EXAMINATION OF VEGETABLE POWDERS 15 







remove the dissecting-room odor from hands; repeated washings 

 with soap and hot water and dusting with charcoal is necessary. 



To test the powder for odor, place a goodly pinch in the palm of 

 one hand and rub it with the thumb and finger tips of the other hand, 

 closing the palm as much as possible. The rubbing should be done 

 briskly and with considerable force. Now bring the hand near the 

 nose and open the palm somewhat. The warmth and moisture of the 

 hand causes the odoriferous substance to rise and enter the nostrils. 

 The odor is accentuated by sniffing that is, by a series of sharp and 

 rapid inhalations, causing the air charged with the odor to enter the 

 nostrils in larger volumes. The hands and fingers should not be wet, 

 as excessive moisture absorbs some of the odoriferous gas and reduces 

 the intensity of the odor. If one powder has been rubbed or crushed 

 in one palm, the second should be placed in the other palm; this will 

 tend to guard against the mixing and confusing of odors in instances 

 where hurried examination of several powders is necessary and when 

 no opportunity presents itself for removing the first odor from palm 

 and fingers. 



Since there are neither qualitative nor quantitative odor stand- 

 ards, it is difficult to make comparisons, and the information gained 

 from the comparisons is unreliable. Many of the vegetable drugs, 

 however, have very decided odors, so that it is possible to identify them 

 by this characteristic alone. On making a comparison of the different 

 drugs we find that those having odors may be grouped according to a 

 similarity of odors peculiar to certain types. This grouping would be 

 an easy matter if the odors were simple, but unfortunately the odors 

 of most drugs are mixed. For instance, chenopodium has a rather 

 faint camphoraceous odor, but in addition it has a very disagreeable 

 odor. Spearmint has a fragrant odor in addition to the aromatic 

 minty odor. Roman pellitory has a faintly aromatic odor in addition 

 to a somewhat disagreeable odor resembling that of taraxacum. The 

 odor of calamus is spicy and camphoraceous, etc. Since there is no 

 odor standard, there is also no satisfactory odor nomenclature. Auth- 

 ors speak of sour odor, sweet odor and pungent odor, terms which are 

 wholly unscientific and inapplicable. The so-called sour odor is an 

 odor which we have learned to associate with sour taste; the sweet 

 odor is so called because of an odor associated with a sweet taste. 

 Some speak of fragrant odors as sweet, which is simply a misuse of the 

 term sweet. As already indicated, pungent odors are tactile sensations. 



The following is an arbitrary classification of the odors which may 

 be detected in the more common vegetable drugs. Certain drugs 

 are chosen as types or provisional standards. 



