INFERIOR DRUGS AND METHODS OF DECEPTION. 17 



grade, or to use it in the manufacture of other medicinal remedies 

 containing morphine. If the manufacturer places powdered opium 

 on the market containing more than i:> per cent of morphine, he 

 becomes liable to punishment, and if he dilutes it to the proper 

 strength with a detectable diluent many State laws consider him cul- 

 pable. In fixing standards of the above type it is desirable to provide 

 for contingencies of this character. 



Some dealers maintain that the pharmacopoeia] requirements of cer- 

 tain oils are abnormal and that adulteration must he resorted to if oils 

 of the desired quality are supplied. Much capital is made of this in 

 certain quarters, by quoting such oils as bay, coriander, and pimento, 

 "compounded to conform to the requirements of U. S. P. ls.M),"at 

 from 30 to 60 per cent below the price asked for pure oils which are 

 not expected to comply with the pharmacopeia! standards. 



ANALYSES OF CERTAIN OILS AND POTASSIIM < - YAMl. 



The most important factor in judging the quality of oil of bay, 

 aside from its peculiar odor, is the specific gravity, which should lie, 

 according to the Pharmacopoeia, between 0.975 and 0.990, at 15 C. 

 An examination of ten samples of pure oil of bay. obtained directly 

 from the distillers, gave specific gravities varying from 0.958 to 

 0.980. All but two fell below the lower limit. Other recognized 

 authorities allow a lower limit of 0.965. Three of the above samples 

 fell below this standard, being 0.958, 0.9627, and 0.964, respectively. 

 On submitting 511 pounds of bay leaves to steam distillation, 12.5 

 pounds of light and heavy oils mixed were obtained, which after aging 

 one year had a specific gravity of 0.955. It would therefore seem 

 that the specific gravity of the Pharmacopoeia for oil of bay is a little 

 too high. 



Six samples of coriander-seed oil were examined, of which three 

 were marked pure, two were distilled by the writer, and all complied 

 with the U. S. P. requirements. The sixth was marked "German," 

 and proved to be adulterated. The pharmacopoeia 1 standard is there- 

 fore not far from the truth. 



Six samples of oil of pimento berries were tested. Their specific 

 gravities were as follows: 1.0494, 1.0510, 1.0280, 1.034, 1.040, and 

 1.035. In other respects these oils complied with the pharmacopceial 

 requirements. The first two were labeled, "Made to conform to the 

 U. S. P. requirements." The last was distilled by the writer, and the 

 others were secured from prominent distillers in this country and 

 guaranteed pure. The Pharmacopoeia requires the specific gravit} r to 

 fall between 1.045 and 1.055, but "Die Aetherische Oele," by Gilde- 

 meister and Hoffmann, recognizes a specific gravity as low as 1.024. 

 While the specific gravity is, to a certain extent, an indication as to 



13528 No. 8004 2 



