460 ANNUAL. REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 



iMroRTED DRUGS. — Of the 228 samples of imported drugs analyzed 

 in this laboratory, 201 were found to be illegal. But few shipments 

 of crude drugs were included among these, however, the illegal sam- 

 ples consisting chiefly of proprietary remedies. 



A large percentage of the imported drug products detained are dis- 

 posed of by the port laboratories under precedents which have been 

 established, but all cases for which there are no precedents are regu- 

 larly referred to the Washington Drug Inspection Laboratory, to- 

 gether with the appeals from importers, shippers, or manufacturers 

 for investigation and recommendation. Tlie character of violations 

 is very sunilar to those encountered in domestic drugs, namely, mis- 

 representations upon the label, carton, and in the accompanying lit- 

 erature, regarding the medicinal claims, names, place of manufac- 

 ture, etc., and the absence of or the incorrect declaration of the pro- 

 scribed ingredients, as alcohol, ether, chloroform, opium, morphin, 

 codein, acetanilid, etc. 



The quality of the crude drugs imported has materially improved, 

 as is noted also in the report on the New York laboratory where the 

 greater number of imported drugs is received. Official crude 

 drugs, for which the United States Pharmacopoeia prescribed definite 

 standards, are less frequently found to be below the specified strength 

 in alkaloidal material, resin content, etc. A number of importations 

 of official drugs for which no specific standard exists, however, were 

 found to be of inferior quality. These included digitalis, senna leaves, 

 uva ursi leaves, buchu leaves, and cubeb berries. Such goods were 

 found to be either improperly cured or contaminated with foreign 

 material, such as sticks, stems, and leaves, indicating that the inferior 

 quality is due to improper or careless collecting and curing rather 

 than to gross adulteration. During the fiscal year henbane leaves 

 offered for entry showed a great improvement, but some consign- 

 ments were still found below the minimum alkaloidal requirement. 

 The practice previously in vogue of importing Hyoscyamus muticus, 

 a spurious henbane, under the name " henbane," has virtually ceased. 

 During the early part of the year many importations of saffron were 

 found to contain an excessive quantity of yellow styles, and it was 

 said to be impossible to procure this product without a large amount 

 of this foreign material. Importations received during the last six 

 months, however, indicate that this statement is not well founded 

 and that there is no difficulty in obtaining these goods reasonably free 

 from the objectionable material. The substitution of calendula florets 

 colored with coal-tar dye for saffron, and the weighting of saffron 

 with inorganic material, which frequently occurred when the law 

 first went into effect, have virtually ceased. 



Considerable difficulty has been experienced in regard to the im- 

 portation of Haarlem oil. After purging the printed matter of the 

 false and misleading claims and representations regarding the medic- 

 inal virtues of the article, the question arose as to the composition 

 of genuine Haarlem oil, and the place of manufacture. A mass of 

 information has been accumulated through the aid of the State 

 Department and the trade regarding the status, merits, and composi- 

 tion of the various brands. The questions regarding the true place of 

 manufacture have been very largely answered and the indications are 

 that the whole matter will soon be adjusted satisfactorily. 



