IPECACUANHA. 



A prominent druggist in one of our western cities told me 

 he had found quite a large per cent, of the powdered ipecac, 

 that was sent to him from the east, to be mixed with powdered 

 licorice. The only way to become acquainted with the appear- 

 ance of licorice under the microscop'e is to prepare and examine 

 some of the root in the same way we prepared and examined 

 ipecac root, and then to study some of the powdered licorice. 

 This would hardly be necessary for the identification of licorice 

 when it can so easily be detected by its taste and odor. 



Fig. 6. Powdered Ipecac, a, starch grains of ipecac, b, woody 

 fibre, c, crystals. Adulterated with d, potato starch, x 



By far the most common substance used is potato starch. 

 Of all the specimens of powdered ipecac which I have examined, 

 every one had more or less of potato starch mixed with it. Only 

 two having corn meal. Potato starch grains are so very charac- 

 teristic that it would be impossible for any one to mistake them 

 under the microscope for the starch grains of ipecac. In fig. 5 

 is given an illustration of the starch grains of potato. Large, 

 oval, or irregularly ovate grains. Each one possessing a nucleus 



