1900] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 161 



position to demonstrate the grounds of his confidence to 

 his customers if need be. In the matter of spices and con- 

 diments the druggist is on different ground, and must be 

 content to see the greater part of his trade pass into the 

 hands of the grocer, unless he can compete with him in 

 price or sell a superior article. In order to be master of 

 the situation the pharmacist must be certain of the quali- 

 ty of his goods, and he cannot do better thau submit all 

 his ground species to microscopical examinations. Cin- 

 namon is sometimes mixed with starch, of which there 

 should be normally present only a small quantity. Pow- 

 dered walnut shells and the ground twigs of the cinna- 

 mon tree are also used for the same purpose. All these 

 substances would be at once revealed by the microscope. 

 Ground white pepper is not infrequently found mixed 

 with other substances, such as foreign starches, ground 

 olive kernels, walnut, almond and hazelnut shells. Ex- 

 hausted coriander, fennel and anise fruits are also said 

 to have been used for adulterating pepper. Ground mus- 

 tard may contain an unusual amount of added starch, and 

 it occasionally happens that such diluted mustard is for- 

 tified with cayenne pepper. Cheap arrowroot is not al- 

 ways what it pretends to be. Having a complaint as to 

 the price of arrowroot, and hearing that a neighboring 

 grocer was selling it at a low price, it was decided to in- 

 vestigate the matter by making a purchase from the said 

 grocer. Accordingly, a small quantity of each of his two 

 qualities was obtained. The difference between them was 

 only the difference in the retail price ; the arrowroot was 

 adulterated to the extent of between 30 and 40 per cent 

 of sago meal. In justice to grocers, as a class, it should 

 be said that the investigation was then extended, and sam- 

 ples obtained from ten other establishments ; these exam- 

 ples were all pure and of good quality. Linseed meal may 

 sometimes be found to have an admixture of starch, and 

 at other times, especially when old, it may contain large 



