34 EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



Ginger is the powdered underground stem of Zinglher offi- 

 cinale, grown principally in India and the West Indies. It 

 stimulates the various membranes with which it comes in con- 

 tact, and is used as an appetizer and to reduce the griping effects 

 of purgatives. 



Pepper, the common black form, is obtained from the brown 

 berries of an East India climbing plant, Piper nigrum. Cay- 

 enne pepper consists of the dried ripe fruit of Capsicum fasti- 

 giatum and annum. Both kinds are used as a stomachic and to 

 increase the activity of the reproductive organs. 



Salt, of which many of the mixtures contained from 2 to 20 

 per cent., was used as an appetizer. 



Sulfates of magnesia and soda, in the form of Epsom and 

 Glaubers salts, are purgatives, and are frequently spoken of as 

 " salts." 



Saltpeter, iiitraie of potash or niter, is used in medicine to 

 excite the action of the kidneys and to reduce fever. 



Sodhnn hicarhonate is employed to neutralize an undue 

 acidity of the stomach. 



Sulphur is used as a laxative, alterative, and as a stimulant 

 of mucous surfaces. 



Iron found as the oxidfe — Venetian red or Princess metallic ^ 

 is not used medicinally, but is employed to color or disguise the 

 real character of the food. Sulfate of iron used as a restorative 

 and tonic was seldom identified. 



Charcoal. Its medicinal value consists in its ability to check 

 fermentative changes, and to absorb undesirable gases. In most 

 cases it appears to have been ground fine and mixed with the 

 other ingredients to conceal their identity. 



Tumeric, the powdered root of an East Indian jilant, the 

 Curcuma longa, is a stomachic, but is used principally as color- 

 ing matter. 



Quantity of Medicinal Ingkedients. 



No attempt was made to determine the exact quantity of 



each of the several drugs employed. Most of the foods contained 



from 5 to 40 per cent, of ash. Ordinary grains and by-products 



rarely contain more than 5 per cent, of ash; the excess in the 



» Dry paints. 



