178 POWDERED VEGETABLE DRUGS 



These inclusions usually consist of dirt, clay, foreign roots, leaves, 

 stems, etc. It is also generally admitted that with greater care on the 

 part of the growers and gatherers of drugs, these inclusions could be 

 removed with the exception of the substances mentioned under (1); 

 but the extra labor entailed and the consequent increase in the price, 

 does not, by general agreement, warrant the removal of the wholly 

 negligible inclusions, which rarely reach 5 per cent. 



(2) gradually merges into (3) . It is common practice on the part 

 of the careful wholesale pharmaceutical manufacturer, to open up the 

 bales of crude drugs as they are received, spreading them out on a floor 

 and to cull out foreign plants, roots, etc.; or to winnow out dust, dirt, 

 foreign seeds, fruits, chaff, etc.; or to remove, by means of sieves, peb- 

 bles, defective or undersized specimens, etc. This more or less com- 

 mon normal or usual sophistication often amounts to 10 per cent, and 

 may reach 20 per cent, in some instances. This type of sophistication 

 or adulteration is generally due to carelessness in gathering and garbling 

 for the market. This form of adulteration usually escapes the vigilance 

 of the U. S. customs and the food and drug inspection, and even when 

 detected the amount of adulteration is usually not considered sufficient 

 to warrant entering upon condemnation procedures, and the dealer is 

 informed that the article contained an excess of foreign matter and is 

 advised to avoid future shipment of such inferior quality. 



Among the conventional adulterations may be mentioned the lime- 

 ing of ginger and nutmeg, the coloring of tea and coffee, adding a 

 trace of Prussian blue to beet sugar to increase its whiteness, adding cara- 

 mel to bay rum, whiskey, brandy, etc., adding color to butter and 

 cheese, etc. Some of these forms of adulteration are time honored 

 and the reasons for their existence are generally not clearly understood. 

 In some instances it is supposed to please the esthetic sense, but in the 

 majority of instances the custom arose from a desire to hide or mask 

 inferiority or poor quality. The conventional forms of adulteration are 

 gradually being abandoned, or are made unlawful. Thus, it is no 

 longer permissible to color tea or coffee in the United States. Prus- 

 sian blue may no longer be added to sugar. 



The forms of actual and unquestioned adulterations were discussed 

 in Part I. The student should be given adulterated samples and he 

 should be required to determine the percentages of the adulterants 

 according to the methods outlined in Part I. The student should be 

 fully informed as to the importance of experience and good judgment 

 in rendering a decision as to the degree and the kind of adulteration 

 which has been perpetrated, always bearing in mind that the law is 

 for the protection of the consumer but that the dealer also has his 



