To a saturated solution of chromate of potassium, 100 parts, add oil of
vitriol (sp. gr. 1·845), 49 parts; and let the whole cool. This is the
common process. The product contains sulphate of potassium, but this does
not much interfere with its value as a bleaching agent.
From chromate of barium, decomposed by concentrated nitric acid. The
anhydrous chromic acid is separated from the nitrate of barium by
decantation, or, which is still better, by filtration through glass or
asbestos. It is then evaporated to dryness, when the nitric acid is
volatilised, and pure chromic anhydride left behind. The volatilised
nitric acid may be condensed, and again used for the same purpose. The
only precautions necessary to ensure the purity of the anhydrous chromic
acid prepared by this plan are--to use a sufficient quantity of nitric
acid and to take care that the nitric acid is sufficiently concentrated
and pure.
_Prop., &c._ Forms ruby-red anhydrous prisms, very soluble in water, with
formation of true chromic acid, and extensively manufactured for the
purpose of oxidising and bleaching substances.
=CHROME IRON-STONE.= _Syn._ CHROME IRON-ORE. FeO.Cr_{2}O_{3}. This, which
is the principal ore of chromium, corresponds in composition to brown
oxide of chromium and to the magnetic oxide of iron; part of the iron,
however, is generally displaced by the isomorphous metal magnesium, and
part of the chromium by aluminium.
Chrome iron-stone is often met with in the form of octohedral crystals.
Acids fail to dissolve it, and it cannot be fused in the furnace, but when
heated it absorbs oxygen from the air. This oxidation may be effected very
readily if the chrome ore reduced to very fine powder be mixed with a
carbonate of one of the metals of the alkalies or alkaline earths, a
chromate of the base being formed.
=CHRYSENE.= C_{18}H_{12}. A hydrocarbon found by Laurent in crude
anthracene. It occurs in bright yellow, glistening scales. It may be
obtained colourless by heating the yellow crystals with hydriodic acid and
amorphous phosphorus to 240°. It cannot be sublimed without decomposition.
Chrysene is very slightly soluble in cold alcohol, ether, benzene, and
glacial acetic acid. In carbon disulphide it dissolves somewhat more
readily. Its melting point is from 248° to 250°, and it boils at a
temperature beyond that which can be registered by the mercurial
thermometer.
=CHRYSOPHANIC ACID.= See RHEIN.
=CHYLE.= _Syn._ LYMPH. This is the name given to the nutritious milky
fluid generated during digestion, and absorbed from the intestines by a
set of vessels called the _lacteals_, which carry it to the thoracic duct,
whence it is immediately conveyed into the circulation.
=CHYME.= The pulpy mass formed by the food in its first great change, in
the process of digestion.
=CIDER.= _Syn._ CYDER; POMACEUM, L. Cider is the fermented juice of the
apple, and is a very ancient beverage. Pliny calls cider and perry the
"wine of apples and pears."
The attention of the cider farmer should be first directed to the culture
of the apple tree. The situation most appropriate for an orchard is one on
rising ground, rather dry than moist, and unexposed to sea air or high
winds. The soil should be strong, but not too heavy, and should be rich in
the alkaline and earthy bases, especially the phosphates. The selection of
the proper varieties of the apple for grafting is also a point on which
particular care should be taken. It is found that the juices of different
kinds of apples vary in the quantity of saccharine matter which they
contain, as well as in other particulars that influence the quality and
flavour of the cider prepared from them. As a general rule, those
varieties should be chosen that yield a juice rich in sugar, and contain
no undue amount of acid, and which, after the period of active
fermentation is past, furnishes a liquor which clarifies itself and keeps
well. This quality of the juice may generally be determined from its
specific gravity. The heaviest and clearest is the best, other points
being equal. The specific gravity of the juice of the different varieties
of apple varies from 1·060 to 1·100.
Cider apples are classed under three heads--bitter, sweet, and sour. The
first are the best; their juice has the greatest specific gravity, is the
richest in sugar, ferments the most freely, clarifies spontaneously the
quickest, and keeps the best after fermentation. They contain a minute
quantity of extractive matter which is not present in other apples. The
juice of sweet apples ferments tumultuously, clears with difficulty, and
the resulting cider does not keep so well as that produced from the first
variety. The juice of sour apples contains less sugar and more acid than
the other two, and consequently not only produces the weakest, but the
worst cider; it, however, "fines" well, although it "stores" badly. Sour
and "rough-tasted" apples are usually preferred by farmers for making
cider. This preference, which is very decided in the West of England, may
be readily accounted for. The sour and rough-tasted apples contain less
sugar and more malic acid than some of the other varieties, and the
presence of this acid impedes the conversion of the alcohol of the cider
into vinegar; a change which their rude mode of operating renders
otherwise inevitable. But cider made with such apples never equals in
quality that prepared at a low temperature, from fruit abounding in sugar,
provided equal skill is exercised in the manufacture as in the process of
converting malt-worts into beer.
The process of making cider varies in different places, but in every case
essentially consists of the collection of the fruit, the expression and
fermentation of the juice, and the storing and management of the fermented
liquor.
The collection of the fruit should not be commenced before it has become
sufficiently mature, and should be performed with greater care than is
commonly bestowed upon it. The apples, after being gathered, are usually
left for 14 or 15 days in a barn or loft to mellow, during which time a
considerable portion of the mucilage is decomposed, and alcohol and
carbonic acid developed. If this "ripening" is allowed to go too far, loss
arises, notwithstanding the vulgar prejudice in its favour. The spoiled
apples are then separated from the sound ones, as they not only impart a
bad flavour to the cider, but impede its spontaneous clarification.
The expression of the juice is the next step in the process of
cider-making. The apples are crushed or ground in mills consisting of two
fluted cylinders of hard wood or cast-iron, working against each other.
The common practice is next to sprinkle the pulp with 1/6th to 1/4th of
its weight of spring or river water, and then to allow it to remain in
tubs or wooden cisterns for 12 or 14 hours, during which time incipient
fermentation commences, and the breaking up of the cells of the membrane
takes place, by which the subsequent separation of the juice is
facilitated. This plan, though general among cider manufacturers, is
prejudicial to the quality of the future liquor; as not only is a portion
of the newly formed alcohol lost, but the skins and pips often impart to
it a disagreeable flavour. By employing more efficient crushing machinery
this system of vatting is rendered quite unnecessary. A machine furnished
with a revolving circular rasp, similar to that used in making potato
starch, is admirably adapted to this purpose.
The pulp of the crushed or ground apples is now placed on a kind of wicker
frame, or in hair-cloth or coarse canvas bags, and after being allowed to
drain into suitable tubs or receivers, is subjected to powerful pressure,
gradually applied, in the cider press. The liquor which runs off first is
the best, and is usually kept separately; whilst that which follows,
especially the portion obtained by much pressure, tastes of the pips and
skins.
The expressed juice or "must," obtained as above, is next put into clean
casks with large bung-holes, and freely exposed to the air and the shade,
where they are placed on "stillions," with flat tubs under them to catch
the waste. They are now constantly attended to and kept quite full, in
order that the yeast, as it forms, may froth over and be carried off from
the surface of the liquor. After 2 or 3 days for weak cider, and 8 or 10
days for strong cider, or as soon as the sediment has subsided, the liquor
is "racked off" into clean casks, which have been (according to the common
practice) previously sulphured with a cooper's match. The casks containing
the "racked cider" are then stored in a cellar, shaded barn, or other cool
place, where a low and regular temperature can be ensured, and are left to
mature or ripen. By the following spring the cider is commonly fit for
use, and may be "re-racked" for sale.
The marc, or pressed pulp, is generally again sprinkled with 1/3 or 1/2
its weight of water, and re-pressed. The resulting liquor, when fermented,
forms a weak kind of cider (cider moil, water moil), which is reserved for
domestic use in the same way as table-beer. The refuse-pulp (apple-marc,
pomace, pommage, apple cheese) is used as food for pigs and store cattle,
and is very acceptable to them.
The storing and management of cider are matters of vast importance to the
cider farmer, the factor, the wholesale dealer, and the bottler. The
principles by which these should be directed are precisely similar to
those which are explained under the heads BREWING, FERMENTATION, and MALT
LIQUORS; and which, indeed, refer, with slight modifications, to all
fermented liquors.
Preparatory to bottling cider it should be examined, to see whether it is
clear and sparkling. If not so, it should be clarified in a similar way to
beer, and left for a fortnight. The night before it is intended to put it
into bottles the bung should be taken out of the cask, and left so until
the next day, and the filled bottles should not be corked down until the
day after; as, if this is done at once, many of the bottles will burst by
keeping. The best corks should alone be used. Champagne bottles are the
variety generally chosen for cider. It is usual to wire down the corks,
and to cover them with tinfoil, after the manner of champagne. A few
bottles at a time may be kept in a warm place to ripen. When the cider is
wanted for immediate use, or for consumption during the cooler portion of
the year, a small piece of lump sugar may be put into each bottle before
corking it; or, what is the same thing in effect, the bottles may be
corked within 2 or 3 hours after being filled. In summer, and for long
keeping, this practice is, however, inadmissible. The bottled stock should
be stored in a cool cellar, when the quality will be greatly improved by
age. Cider for bottling should be of good quality, sound and piquant, and
at least a twelvemonth old. When out of condition it is unfit for
bottling.
_Qual., &c._ Cider, when of good quality, and in good condition, is
doubtless a very wholesome liquor. Cider consumers, living in the cider
districts, appear to enjoy almost an immunity from cholera, and often from
other diseases which are common in other parts of the kingdom. At the same
time, however, it is right to mention, that the dry colic or belly-ache
(_colica pictonum_) is far from uncommon in these districts, but is wholly
confined to those who drink early, hard, or inferior cider, made from
harsh, unripe fruit. We believe that, in most cases, it may be referred to
the acid of the common cider having acted on the lead, pewter, or copper
of the articles or utensils with which it has come in contact, and of
which it has dissolved a very minute portion. The best cider contains from
8% to 10% of absolute alcohol; ordinary cider from 4% to 6%.
_Concluding Remarks._ Much of the excellence of cider depends upon the
temperature at which the fermentation is conducted; a point utterly
overlooked by the manufacturers of this liquor. Instead of the
apple-juice, as soon as it is expressed from the fruit, being placed in a
cool situation, where the temperature should not exceed 50° or 52° Fahr.,
it is frequently left exposed to the full heat of autumn. In this way much
of the alcohol formed by the decomposition of the sugar is converted into
vinegar by the absorption of atmospheric oxygen, and thus the liquor
acquires that peculiar and unwholesome acidity known in the cider
districts by the name of "roughness." When, on the contrary, the
fermentation is conducted at a low temperature, nearly the whole of the
sugar is converted into alcohol, and this remains in the liquor, instead
of undergoing the process of acetification. The acetous fermentation, by
which alcohol is converted into vinegar, proceeds most rapidly at a
temperature of about 90° Fahr., and at lower temperatures the action
becomes gradually slower, until at 46° to 50° Fahr. no such change takes
place. (Liebig.) It is therefore evident that if the saccharine juice of
apples, or any other fruit, is made to undergo the vinous fermentation in
a cool situation, less of the spirit resulting from the transformation of
the sugar will be converted into acetic acid, and, consequently, more will
be retained in an unaltered state in the liquor, to improve its quality,
and by its conservative and chemical action to preserve it from future
change. This is the principal cause, other circumstances being alike, of
the difference in the quality of the cider made by persons living in the
same district. The one has probably a cooler barn and cellar than the
other to store his liquor in, and is more careful to keep the pulp and
juice cool during the early part of the process. In Devonshire the
pressing and fermentation are conducted in situations where the
temperature varies little from that of the external air, and fluctuates
with all its changes; the result is that Devonshire cider, of the best
class, will rarely keep more than 4 or 5 years, and seldom improves after
the second or third year; whilst the cider of Herefordshire and
Worcestershire, where these operations are more carefully attended to,
will keep for 20 or 30 years.
When the pressing the apples for the juice is deferred until late in the
season, it sometimes happens that the fermentation is sluggish. Though the
juice has been set on the old system, in November or December, the working
hardly commences until March. At this time the cider is sweet; it now
rapidly becomes pungent and vinous, and is soon ready to be racked for
use. If the fermentation still continues, it is again racked into a clean
cask that has been sulphured; or two or three cans of the cider are put
into a cask, and a brimstone-match burned in it. The cask is then
agitated, after which it is nearly filled with the cider. By this process
the fermentation is checked, and the cider in a short time becomes fine.
Great care must be taken that the sulphuring be not overdone, as it is apt
to impart a slightly unpleasant flavour to the liquor. If, on the first
operation, the fermentation is not checked, the process of 'racking' is
repeated, until the liquor becomes clear, and is continued from time to
time, till the cider is in a quiet state and fit for drinking.
A common practice in Devonshire is to add a stuff called 'stum,' sold by
the wine-coopers, or an article called 'antiferment,' sold by the
druggists, for the purpose of checking the fermentation, but a much better
plan is that described above.
To improve the flavour of weak cider, or to render ordinary cider more
vinous, various plans are followed by the cellarmen and bottlers. An
excellent one is to add to each hogshead 1-1/2 gall. of good brandy or
rum, with 2 oz. of powdered catechu (dissolved in water), 10 lbs. of good
moist sugar or honey, 1/2 oz. each of bitter almonds and cloves, and 4 oz.
of mustard seed (all in powder). These must be well 'rummaged' into the
liquor, and the whole occasionally stirred up for a fortnight, after which
it must be allowed to repose for 3 or 4 months, when it will usually be
found perfectly 'bright,' and no bad substitute for foreign wine. Should
this not be the case, the liquor must be 'fined' with a pint of isinglass
finings, or a dozen eggs, and allowed to rest for a fortnight. If the
cider is preferred pale, the catechu must be omitted, and instead of
isinglass, a quart of skimmed milk is to be used as 'finings.' When
desired of a pinkish tint, 1 oz. of cochineal (in powder) may be added
instead of the catechu.
About 13 cwt. of November apples commonly yield one hogshead of cider. In
Devonshire about 6 sacks or 24 bushels are the common quantity for the
hogshead of 63 galls.
The best cider made at the present day is that of Normandy, Herefordshire,
and New Jersey (U.S.), and next that of Devonshire and Somersetshire. See
ANTIFERMENT, FERMENTATION, &c.
=Cider, Champagne.= This name is given in the United States of America to
a fine, pale variety of cider, much used for bottling, which has a great
resemblance to inferior champagne. The best variety comes from New Jersey.
The name is also applied in this country in a similar manner. The
following is a good form for a 'made' cider of this class:--
_Prep._ Good pale vinous cider, 1 hhd.; proof spirit (pale), 3 galls.;
honey or sugar, 14 lbs.; mix well, and let them remain together in a
temperate situation for 1 month; then add orange-flower water, 3 pints;
and in a few days fine it down with skimmed milk, 1/2 gall. A similar
article, bottled in champagne bottles, silvered, and labelled, is often
sold to the ignorant for champagne.
=Cider, Made.= An article under this name is made in Devonshire, chiefly
for the supply of the London market, it having been found that the
ordinary cider will not stand a voyage to the metropolis without some
preparation. The finest quality of 'made' cider is simply ordinary cider
racked into clean and well-sulphured casks; but the mass of that which is
sent to London is mixed with water, treacle, and alum. The cider sold in
London under the name of Devonshire cider would be rejected even by the
farmers' servants in that county.
=Cider, Raisin.= This is made in a similar way to raisin wine, but without
employing sugar, and with only 2 lbs. of raisins to the gall., or even
more, of water. It is usually fit for bottling in 10 days, and in a week
longer is ready for use.
=CIDER SPIRIT.= See BRANDY.
=CIGAR.= _Syn._ SEGAR; CIGARRE, Fr.; CIGARRO, Span. A small roll of
tobacco-leaf used for smoking. The leaf is stalked or stripped of its
midrib, and damped before it passes into the hands of the cigar-roller.
The envelope or skin is cut from a smooth, unbroken leaf, and is quickly
rolled round sufficient tobacco to form the inside. To secure the loose
end of the envelope a small quantity of paste, coloured brown with
chicory, is generally used. Only those who have had great practice can
make cigars of a good shape. A full account of the manufacture of cigars
does not come within the scope of this work. Although cigars of British
make cannot compete in point of flavour with those manufactured in
tobacco-growing countries, they have obtained a high degree of favour
from the excellent manner in which they are made, and from their
comparative cheapness. For information respecting the adulteration of
cigars, and the influence of their use upon health, see TOBACCO.
=CIGARS.= (In _pharmacy_.) _Syn._ MED'ICATED CIGARS, M. CIGARETTES'. The
administration of medicinal agents in the form of cigars is of recent
introduction, and as yet in only very limited use. The medicinal
substance, if of a suitable description, as the leaves of plants, is made
up into small rolls, like cheroots, and then smoked in the usual manner.
In some cases, common cigars, or paper cigars (cigarettes), are medicated
by moistening them in a preparation of the article to be administered.
When the narcotic property of the tobacco would prove injurious, it is
first exhausted by soaking and washing it in water.
=Cigars, Aromatic.= _Syn._ AROMATIC CIGARETTES; CIGARETTÆ AROMAT'ICÆ, L.;
CIGARETTES AROMATIQUES, Fr. Aromatic spices, lavender flowers, &c., made
into cigarettes. Smoked for their odour; and in tooth-ache, face-ache, &c.
See CIGARS, SCENTED.
=Cigars, Arsenical.= _Syn._ CIGARR'Æ ARSENICALES, L. _Prep._ Dissolve
arseniate of soda, 1 part, in water, 30 parts; dip white, unsized paper
into the solution, and form it into small rolls, 3 or 4 inches long. Used
in pulmonary consumption; 4 or 5 whiffs as many times a day.
=Cigars, Balsamic.= _Syn._ BALSAMIC CIGARETTES; CIGARRÆ BALSAMICÆ,
CIGARETTÆ B., L. Thick, unsized paper is soaked in a solution of saltpetre
and dried; after which it is brushed over first with tincture of
cascarilla, and when again nearly dry, with compound tincture of benzoin;
in about half an hour it is cut into pieces (1-1/2 × 4 inches), and rolled
into cigarettes. Used in hoarseness, loss of voice, asthma, &c.
=Cigars, Belladonna.= _Syn._ BELLADONNA CIGARETTES; CIGARETTÆ BELLADONNÆ,
L. _Prep._ 1. Belladonna leaves made into cigarettes of 1 dr. each.
2. (Compound--C. B. COMPOS'ITUM.) From belladonna leaves, 4 parts;
moistened with tincture of opium (Ph. L.), 1 part; dried and made into 1
dr. cigarettes, as before.
Used as an anodyne and antispasmodic, in troublesome coughs,
hooping-cough, toothache, sore throat, tic douloureux, &c.
=Cigars, Camphor= (Raspail, Paris). A remedy for various chest diseases,
such as catarrh, hoarseness, loss of voice, coughs, spasms, hooping-cough,
phthisis; also, if the saliva be swallowed, for heartburn, pains in the
stomach, and gastritis. They consist either of a straw or quill filled
with broken camphor, or of a bone or horn mouthpiece, furnished at the
outer end with a little capsule for the camphor. (Wittstein.)
=Cigars, Cam'phor.= _Syn._ CAMPHOR CIGARETTES; CIGARETT'Æ CAMPHO'RÆ, L.;
CIGARETTES DE CAMPHRE, Fr. _Prep._ 1. Bibulous paper, moistened with 2 or
3 drops of essence of camphor, and rolled into cigarettes. For use they
are loosely placed in a tubular cigar-holder.
2. (Raspail.) These are made by loosely filling a quill or large straw
with small fragments of camphor, closing the open end with a little cotton
wool or bibulous paper, and piercing the closed end with a pin, to allow
the passage of air.
_Obs._ Both the above are used unlighted by drawing the air through them
into the mouth, which then becomes very slightly charged with the vapour
of camphor. In cold weather the vaporisation is promoted by holding the
cigarette for a few minutes in the warm hand. The hom[oe]opathists regard
them as prophylactic of cholera, and the common people hold them to
possess the same virtue in reference to contagious diseases generally, but
especially typhus and scarlet fever. They should not be employed oftener
than 3 or 4 times a day.
=Cigars, Hen'bane.= _Syn._ CIGARR'Æ HYOSCY'AMI, L. From henbane leaves, as
directed under BELLADONNA CIGARS.
=Cigars, Indian Hemp.= The plant is made into cigarettes, which are used
in asthma. They must be used with caution.
=Cigars, Mercu''rial.= _Syn._ CIGARR'Æ MERCURIA'LES, L. _Prep._ (Paul
Bernard.) Ordinary cigars are deprived of their narcotic properties by
soaking them in water, and are then wetted with a weak solution of
corrosive sublimate, to which a little opium is generally added. The
proportion may be, of corrosive sublimate, 1 gr.; rectified spirit, 20
drops; dissolve; add laudanum, 15 drops; with this solution 6 cigars are
to be equally moistened to within about 1-1/2 inch of the mouth end, and
then set aside to dry.
Used by persons afflicted with syphilitic affections of the throat and
palate, as a convenient method of mercurial fumigation. For those
accustomed to the use of tobacco, mild cigars, undeprived of their
nicotine, may be employed for the purpose.
=Cigars, Scent'ed.= _Syn._ PERFU''MED CIGARS; CIGARR'Æ AROMAT'ICÆ, L.
_Prep._ 1. By moistening ordinary cigars with a strong tincture of
cascarilla, to which a little gum benzoin and storax may be added. Some
persons add a small quantity of camphor, or of oil of cloves or cassia.
2. By soaking the tobacco, of which the cigars are to be made, or the
cigars themselves, for a short time in a very strong infusion of
cascarilla, and then allowing them to dry by a very gentle heat.
3. By simply inserting very small shreds of cascarilla bark between the
leaves of the cigar or in small slits made for the purpose.
_Obs._ The above yield a very agreeable odour when smoked; but are said to
intoxicate quicker than unprepared cigars of equal strength and quality.
They lose much of their fragrance by age.
=Cigars, Stramo''nium.= _Syn._ DATU'RA CIGARS; CIGARRÆ STRAMO''NII, L.
From the leaves of _Datura stramonium_, or preferably those of the eastern
species, _Datura tatula_. See ASTHMA, DATURA.
=CINCHONA BARKS.= _Syn._ CINCHONÆ CORTEX; PERUVIAN BARK; JESUIT'S BARK.
The native names are _quinquino_ and _quina_, _quina_. Of the nearly forty
different known species of cinchona trees, the barks of about a third are
employed, some either directly in medicine, but by far the larger number
as sources of quinine and the other cinchona alkaloids. The original
habitat of the genus _Cinchona_ is the Andes, where it is found at a
height of between 3000 and 12,000 feet above the sea, growing mostly in
patches, distributed amongst the palms, plantains, and other tropical
trees that form the vast forests, for the most part clothing the eastern
slopes of the Cordilleras, and extending from 10° north to about 19° south
latitude. In this district there is always an abundance of moisture and a
mean temperature of about 62°. In 1853 the Dutch government introduced the
cinchona into Java, and in 1861 the East Indian government, following
their example, introduced it into British India, where it is now
acclimatised, large plantations of it growing on the Neilgherries and in
the valleys of the Himalayas. The cinchona is now also successfully
cultivated in Ceylon and Jamaica.
The method followed in the collection of the bark by the Peruvians is a
very wasteful and destructive one, and consists either in stripping the
bark from the trees when they have attained a sufficient age, or in
felling the tree a little above the roots. If the latter method be
adopted, the roots give out a growth of suckers, which yield a good bark.
The bark is never removed during the rainy season.
Previous to being stripped off, the bark is sometimes cleaned with a
brush, and then peeled off in pieces varying from 15 to 18 inches long,
and from 4 or 5 in width. The thinnest pieces, which are derived from the
branches or the trunks of small trees, are dried in the sun, and thus
acquire the well-known quill-like form. The larger trunks yield the flat
specimens, which are submitted to a kind of pressure as they are being
dried. The inferior specimens being rejected, the dried barks (mostly of
the same kind) are sewed in canvas, and thus conveyed to the nearest
depôt, from whence, previous to being shipped, they are enclosed in
another envelope of fresh hide, the package being then known under the
name of a _seron_.
_Structure of Cinchona Barks._ A few general observations on the structure
of the bark of cinchona will be appropriate here. The epidermis is only
found on the youngest bark, before it has attained sufficient age for
medicinal use; it is then replaced by the corky layer. In most species
this cracks, and is easily separable, but in some it is firmly attached to
the internal layers. These are composed of the middle layer of the bark or
mesophlæum, formed of parenchyma, and the innermost layer endophlæum, or
liber. The middle layer disappears in some barks, which are thus wholly
composed of liber. This is a means of distinguishing them. The liber is
traversed by medullary rays, which project into the mesophlæum. It is,
therefore, composed of woody fibres (prosenchyma) and soft parenchyma.
The arrangement of the woody fibres, their colour, size, and shape, give a
special character to the cinchona barks.
As compared with other barks, the fibres of the liber are shorter and more
loosely arranged, being for the most part separate or united into very
short bundles. The fibres, therefore, are easily isolated; they are
spindle-shaped, sub-quadrangular, rarely exceeding 1-10th of an inch in
length, usually straight, and are very brittle, the cavity of the cell of
which each is composed being reduced by secondary deposits to a fine
canaliculus. This short and loose fibrous structure is not found in other
barks.
In some cinchona bark a system of lactiferous vessels is found between the
liber and mesophlæum.[247]
[Footnote 247: Royle.]
The parenchyma of the barks abounds in starch and oxalate of lime, or else
contains a soft brown deposit.
The 'British Pharmacop[oe]ia' divides the cinchona barks into the three
classes of--
1. YELLOW CINCHONA BARK. _Syn._ CINCHONÆ FLAVÆ CORTEX. The _Cinchona
Calisaya_ of Weddell.
2. PALE CINCHONA BARK. _Syn._ CINCHONÆ PALLIDÆ CORTEX. The bark of
_Cinchona officinalis_; var. _Condaminea_ of Hooker. This bark is also
known under the name of _Crown-bark_, from its having formerly been used
by the royal family of Spain.
3. RED CINCHONA BARK. _Syn._ CINCHONÆ RUBRÆ CORTEX. The _Cinchona
succirubra_ of Pavon.
The therapeutic properties of the cinchona barks are due to the following
alkaloids:--
Quinia, or quinine, having the composition C_{20}H_{24}N_{2}O_{2}.
Quinidia, or quinidine, having the composition C_{20}H_{24}N_{2}O_{2}.
Cinchonia, or cinchonine, having the composition C_{20}H_{24}N_{2}O.
Cinchonidia, or cinchonidine, having the composition C_{20}H_{24}N_{2}O.
Quinamina, or quinamine, having the composition C_{20}H_{24}N_{2}O_{2}.
Besides the above, an alkaloid, which has been named _Paracina_, has been
obtained from the bark of the _Cinchona succirubra_; whilst in those barks
which contain only small portions of the more active constituents above
named there have been found two alkaloids, named respectively _Aricia_ and
_Cusconia_, which have lately been accurately investigated by Hesse, who
has determined their chemical constitution (Liebig's 'Annalen und Berichte
der Chemische Gesselschaft in Berlin').
_The following Prospectus of the principal Species of Cinchona is from_
FLÜCKIGER and HANBURY'S '_Pharmacographia_,'
--------------------------------------+---------------------+-------------+--------------------+-------------------------------------
Species (excluding Sub-species and | | Native | Where |
Varieties) according to Weddell. | Where figured. | Country. | cultivated. | Product - Cinchona Barks.
--------------------------------------+---------------------+-------------+--------------------+-------------------------------------
I. STIRPS CINCHONÆ OFFICINALIS-- | | | |
1. Cinchona officinalis, Hook. |'Bot. Mag.,' 5364 |Ecuador Loxe,|India, Ceylon, Java |Loxa, or Crown Bark, Pale Bark.
2. " macrocalyx, Pav. |Howard, 'N. Q.' |Peru | -- |Ashy Crown Bark. The sub-species
| | | | _C. Palton affords_ an
| | | | important sort called _Palton Bark_,
| | | | much used in the manufacture of
| | | | quinine.
3. " lucumæfolia, Pav. | " |Ecuador, Peru| -- |Carthagena Bark, confounded with
| | | | Palton Bark, but is not so good.
4. " lanciolata, R. and P. | " |Peru | -- } |Columbian Bark. Imported in immense
| | | } | quantities for manufacture of
5. " lancifolia, Mutis. |Karst., tab. 11, 12 |New Granada |India } | quinine. The soft Columbian Bark
| | | } | is produced by Howard's var.
| | | } | _oblonga_.
6. " amygdalifolia, Wedd. |Wedd., tab. 6 |Peru, Bolivia| -- |A poor bark, not now imported.
II. STIRPS CINCHONÆ RUGOSÆ-- | | | |
7. Cinchona Pityrensis, Wedd. |Karst., tab. 22 (G). |New Grenada, |India |Pitayo Bark. Very valuable; used by
| Triane | Popayan | | makers of quinine. It is the chief
| | | | source of quinidine.
8. " rugosa, Pav. |Howard, 'N. Q.' |Peru | -- |Bark unknown, probably valueless.
9. " Mutisii, Lamb. | " |Ecuador | -- |Bark, not in commerce, contains only
| | | | aricine.
10. " hirsuta, R. and P. |Wedd., tab. 21 |Peru | -- |
11. " Carabayensis, Wedd. |Wedd., tab. 19 |Peru, Bolivia| -- |Bark, not collected.
12. " panudiana, How. |Howard, 'N. Q.' |Peru |India, Java |A poor bark, yet of handsome
| | | | appearance; propagation of tree
| | | | discontinued.
13. " asperfolia, Wedd. |Wedd., tab. 20 |Bolivia | -- |Bark not collected.
14. " umbelluliferæ, Pav. |Howard, 'N. Q.' |Peru | -- |Bark not known as a distinct sort.
15. " glandulifera, R. and P. | " |Peru | -- | " "
16. " Humboldtiana, Lamb. | " |Peru | -- |False Loxa Bark, Jaen Bark. A very
| | | | bad bark.
III. STIRPS CINCHONÆ MICRANTHÆ-- | | | |
17. Cinchona Australis, Wedd. |Wedd., tab. 8 |South Bolivia| -- |An inferior bark, mixed with
| | | | Calisaya.
18. " scrobiculata, H. and B. | " |Peru | -- |Bark formerly known as _Red Cusco
| | | | Bark_ or _Santa Anna Bark_.
19. " Peruviana, How. |Howard, 'N. Q.' |Peru |India } |
20. " nitida, R. and P. | " |Peru |India } |Grey Bark, Huanuco, or Lima Bark.
21. " micrantha, R. and P. | " |Peru |India } | Chiefly consumed on the Continent.
IV. STIRPS CINCHONÆ CALISAYÆ-- | | | |
22. Cinchona Calisaya, Wedd. |Wedd., tab. 9 |Peru, Bolivia|India, Ceylon, Java,|Calisaya Bark, Bolivian Bark, Yellow
| | | Jamaica, Mexico | Bark. The tree exists under many
| | | | varieties; bark also very variable.
23. " elliptica, Wedd. | " |Peru, | -- |Carabaya Bark. Bark scarcely now
| | Carabaya | | imported. _C. cuneura_, Miq.
| | | | (flower and fruit unknown), may
| | | | perhaps be this species.
V. STIRPS CINCHONÆ OVATÆ-- | | | |
24. Cinchona purpurea, R. and P. |Howard, 'N. Q.' |Peru, | |Huamalies Bark, not now imported.
| | Huamalies | |
25. " rufinervis, Wedd. | " |Peru, Bolivia| -- |Bark a kind of light Calisaya.
26. " succirubra, Pav. | -- |Ecuador |India, Ceylon, Java,|Red Bark; largely cultivated in
| | | Jamaica | British India.
27. " ovata, R. and P. | " |Peru, Bolivia|India (?), Java (?).|Inferior brown and grey barks.
28. " cordifolia, Mutis. |Karst., tab. 8 |New Granada, | -- |Columbian Bark (in part). Tree exists
| | Peru | | under many varieties; bark of some
| | | | used in manufacture of quinine.
29. " Tucujensis, Karst. |Karst., tab. 9 |Venezuela | -- |Maracaibo Bark.
30. " pubescens, Vahl. |Wedd., tab. 16 |Ecuador, | -- |Areca Bark (Cusco Bark from var.
| |Peru, Bolivia| | _Pelletieriana_). Some of the
| | | | varieties contain aricine. _C.
| | | | caloptera_, Miq., is probably a
| | | | variety of the species.
31. " purpurascens, Wedd. |Wedd., tab. 18 |Bolivia | -- |Bark unknown in commerce.
--------------------------------------+---------------------+-------------+--------------------+-------------------------------------
The cinchona barks vary greatly in the amount of alkaloids they contain
and in their proportion to each other, these being dependent upon the
species or varieties, and many other circumstances. Of the alkaloids,
quinia and cinchonia were till lately the most abundant, but since the
introduction of cinchona cultivation into India, cinchonidia has been
found in very large quantity. Royle says:--"Good Calisaya bark usually
contains from 5 to 6 per cent. of quinia," but actually South American
calisaya containing such an amount of quinia is rare in the market. Some
barks, however, derived from cinchonas cultivated in India, such as _C.
Calisaya_, var. _Ledgeriana_, and some varieties of _C. officinalis_,
yield even a still higher per-centage of quinine.
The South American crown, or loxa bark, is very variable, and contains
chiefly cinchonia.
Red bark also varies considerably, yielding from 3 to 10 per cent. of
alkaloids, of which quinia forms only a small fraction, whilst generally
cinchonidia is predominant. The development of the alkaloids is greatly
influenced by cultivation, but particularly by the "renewing process,"
which, applied to the _C. succirubra_, trebles the amount of quinine in
the bark.
In addition to the alkaloids already mentioned, the cinchona barks contain
the following acid principles:--KINIC ACID, CINCHO-TANNIC ACID, and
QUINOVIC or CHINOVIC ACID. The quinovic acid is accompanied by an
amorphous bitter substance, named CHINOVIN or QUINOVIA, which is present
in much greater proportion than the acid, of which generally there are
only traces. A description of these bodies will be found by referring to
them under their respective names. CINCHONA-RED is another amorphous
substance which is the body to which the red hue of the cinchona barks is
due. It is produced when cincho-tannic acid is boiled with dilute
sulphuric acid, sugar being formed at the same time.
When fused with potash, proto-catechinic acid is formed. Cinchona red
dissolves sparingly in alcohol, freely in alkaline solutions, but neither
in water nor ether. Thick red bark contains it to the amount of more than
10 per cent.
Cinchona red is the product of the oxidation of cincho-tannic acid, and is
contained largely in South American red bark, because this is the product
of old trees; but sparingly in Indian red bark, because this is always
collected from trees not more than fourteen years old.
_Medicinal Properties of the Cinchona Barks._ The therapeutic effects of
the cinchona barks are doubtless due to the alkaloids they contain; but
spite of their variability of composition in this respect, which has been
shown to be very great, they are very extensively employed in medical
practice in the forms of powder, decoction, tincture, and extract.
Dr de Vrij, the eminent quinologist, is of opinion that the therapeutic
effects of bark are chiefly due in part to the alkaloids, and in part to
the cincho-tannic acid they contain; and as red Indian bark is rich in
both these constituents, he considers it the best suited for medical
practice. See QUINETUM.
Garrod says:--"Given in small doses, bark causes an increase of appetite,
especially in weak patients, and at the same time improves the condition
of the muscular system; hence the improvement of the blood and general
health. It may, therefore, be well designated a tonic.
Its power in bracing up the system is also seen in the check given to the
colliquative sweating occurring in extreme debility. The pulse is not
quickened by the use even of large doses of quinine, although it is
frequently made stronger, nor does bark itself, in the majority of cases,
increase the heart's action.
Bark also produces a peculiar influence upon the nervous system, which is
exhibited in the extraordinary power it possesses of arresting the
progress of certain diseases characterised by a periodical recurrence of
their symptoms, as ague, the different forms of neuralgia, and certain
inflammatory affections; how this effect is produced is at present
unknown. Bark acts likewise as an astringent, and this property, combined
with the tonic and antiperiodic powers, is often of much therapeutic
value."
For the method of estimating the alkaloids in cinchona bark, see
QUINOMETRY, QUININE, QUINIDINE, QUINOIDINE, QUINICONE, QUINAMINE,
CINCHONINE; also the different pharmaceutical preparations of CINCHONA
BARK.
=CINCHONIDINE.= _Syn._ CINCHONIDIA. C_{20}H_{24}N_{20}. This cinchona
alkaloid is isomeric with cinchonine. It occurs in large, shining
striated, rhombic prisms, which are anhydrous. It dissolves in ·76 parts
of ether and 20 of spirit of wine. The solutions are fluorescent, but do
not answer to the chlorine and ammonia tests.
"The great powers and activity of this alkaloid have only of late been
appreciated. As a protoplasm-poison, and probably in every other
physiological action, it comes next to quinine and quinidine, and
decidedly above cinchonine."[248]
[Footnote 248: Dr C. D. Phillips.]
If it is chemically pure, cinchonidine belongs to the non-fluorescent
alkaloids.
=CINCHONINE.= _Syn._ CINCHONIA. C_{20}H_{24}N_{2}O. This alkaloid abounds
most in the paler varieties of the cinchona barks. It occurs in clear,
colourless, four-sided prisms, which are soluble in 30 parts of water, and
in about 400 parts of ether and 120 of spirits of wine. With acids it
forms soluble salts, which do not fluoresce in solution, and are turned
lightish brown-yellow by the chlorine and ammonia tests. Of its salts, the
hydriodate is readily soluble in water, and still more so in alcohol,
whether dilute or strong. Cinchonine may be prepared from its sulphate or
disulphate in the same way as quinine.
=Cinchonine, Sulphate of.= _Syn._ CINCHONIÆ SULPHAS. (Ph. U. S.) Take of
the mother-water remaining after the crystallisation of sulphate of quinia
in the process for preparing that salt a convenient quantity, solution of
soda, alcohol, diluted sulphuric acid, animal charcoal in fine powder,
each a sufficient quantity. To the mother-water add gradually with
constant stirring solution of soda, until the liquid becomes alkaline.
Collect on a filter the precipitate formed, wash it with water, and dry
it. Then wash it with successive small portions of alcohol to remove other
alkaloids which may be present, mix the residue with 8 times its weight of
water, and having heated the mixture, add gradually diluted sulphuric acid
until it is neutralised and becomes clear. Then boil the liquid with
animal charcoal, filter it while hot, and set it aside to crystallise.
Lastly, drain the crystals and dry them on bibulous paper. By evaporating
the mother-liquid more crystals may be obtained.
=CINCHO-TANNIC ACID.= This acid is precipitated from a decoction of bark
by acetate of lead, after the decoction has been freed from cinchona red
by means of magnesia.
If the cincho-tannate of lead thus formed be decomposed by sulphuretted
hydrogen, and the solution carefully evaporated in vacuo, the acid may be
obtained as an amorphous, hygroscopic substance, readily soluble in water.
A ferric salt added to a solution of this acid imparts a greenish colour
to it.
Cincho-tannic acid is very soluble in water, but not in acids. Therefore a
concentrated watery infusion (1 to 4) of Indian bark gives a precipitate
upon the addition of strong hydrochloric acid. By this means a rough
estimation may be formed of the amount of cincho-tannic acid in a sample
of bark.
=CINCHOVATINE.= The substance known under this name does not exist as an
alkaloid, _sui generis_. It is nothing more than quinidine, or
cinchonidine, or a mixture of both.
=CINNABAR.= _Syn._ NATIVE VERMILLION. This compound, which is one of the
most abundant of the ores of mercury, is a product of considerable
importance in the arts, and some portions of it are sometimes sufficiently
pure in colour to be used after mere levigation. Generally, however, the
factitious kind is employed. See VERMILION.
=CINNAMEIN.= C_{16}H_{14}O_{2}. _Syn._ OIL OF BALSAM OF PERU. A volatile
oil existing in balsam of Peru.
=CINNAMIC ACID.= HC_{9}H_{7}O_{2}. A colourless, transparent, crystalline
substance, obtained from oil of cinnamon, liquid storax, balsam of Peru,
and balsam of tolu. It is freely dissolved by alcohol, but nearly
insoluble in water. At 248° Fahr. it fuses, and at 560° Fahr. it sublimes
unchanged. Distilled with dichromate of potassium and sulphuric acid it is
converted into benzoic acid. Its salts are called cinnamates.
=CINNAMON.= _Syn._ CINNAMON BARK; CINNAMOMI CORTEX (B. P.), L. The inner
bark of shoots from the truncated stock of the _Cinnamomum Zeylanicum_,
imported from Ceylon, and distinguished in commerce as Ceylon cinnamon.
The best is obtained from branches about three years old.
Used in _medicine_ as a carminative and astringent, chiefly as an adjuvant
to other medicines, _e.g._ with chalk, in diarrh[oe]a.--_Dose_, 10 to 20
grains.
_Obs._ Owing to the high price of this drug it has become a general
practice to substitute the bark of cassia (_Cassia_; _Cortex cinnamomi
cassia_) for it, which so closely resembles it in flavour that the
uninitiated regard them as the same. Cassia, however, is not only thicker
and coarser than cinnamon, but its fracture is short and resinous, and its
flavour is more biting and hot, whilst it lacks the peculiar sweetish
taste of cinnamon. The thickness of cinnamon seldom exceeds that of good
drawing paper.
=CISTERNS.= See TANKS.
=CITRATE.= A salt in which the hydrogen of citric acid is replaced by a
metal or other basic radical.
=CIT'RIC ACID.= H_{3}C_{6}H_{5}O_{7},H_{2}O. _Syn._ ACID OF LEMONS,
CONCRETE A. OF L.; AC'IDUM LIMO'NIS, ACIDUM CIT'RICUM (B. P.), L.; ACIDE
CITRIQUE, Fr.; CITRONENSAÜRE, Ger. An acid peculiar to the vegetable
kingdom. It is obtained in large quantity from the juice of lemons and
other fruits of the genus CITRUS; it is also found in gooseberries,
currants, cranberries, whortleberries, cherries, &c.; and Dr Wright has
lately found it in great abundance in unripe mulberries, in conjunction
with malic acid.
When currants or gooseberries are employed as a source of citric acid,
they are first subjected to pressure, and the juice so obtained from them
is then fermented. The fermented liquor is next submitted to distillation,
and the alcohol collected.
The residue in the retort containing the citric acid is saturated with
chalk, and the resulting citrate of lime is decomposed by means of
sulphuric acid.
100 lbs. of the fruit are said to yield 10 lbs. of spirit and 1 lb. of
acid.
_Prep._ The citric acid manufacture consists in separating it from the
mucilage, sugar, and other foreign matter with which it is combined in
the juice of lemons and limes.
1. (Ph. L. 1836,--Scheele's process.) Take of lemon juice 4 pints;
prepared chalk, 4-1/2 oz.; diluted sulphuric acid, 27-1/2 fl. oz.;
distilled water, 2 pints. Add the chalk by degrees to the lemon juice,
made hot, and mix well; set by, that the powder may subside, and
afterwards pour off the supernatant liquor. Wash the precipitated citrate
of lime frequently with warm water; then pour upon it the diluted
sulphuric acid, mixed with the distilled water, and boil the whole for 15
minutes in glass, stoneware, or lead; press the mixture strongly through a
linen cloth, and filter it. Evaporate the filtered liquor with a gentle
heat, and set it aside, that crystals may form. To obtain the crystals
pure, dissolve them in water a second and a third time; filter each
solution, evaporate, and set it apart to crystallise.