266 Prof. Graham and Hoffmann on the Alleged 



lid orfT illuit 



Report upon the Alleged Adulteration of Pale Ales by 

 Strychnine, By Professors Graham and Hoffmann. 



# 



Having undertaken, at the request of Mr Allsopp, an in- 

 quiry into the purity of bitter beer, with particular reference 

 to its alleged adulteration by strychnine, we now submit the 

 results which we have obtained upon the subject. 



Strychnine or strychnia, the alleged substitute for the hop, 

 is a fine crystallisable substance, extracted from Nux vomica, 

 and belonging to the class of vegetable principles termed al- 

 kaloids, of which quinine from Peruvian bark, and morphine 

 from opium, are the most familiar examples. These sub- 

 stances, although susceptible of the most valuable medical 

 application in small doses, are, generally speaking, remark- 

 able for their energy as poisons, and for the intense bitterness 

 of their taste ; two properties which are developed in strych- 

 nine in the highest degree. Half a grain of the latter sub- 

 stance would poison, and the bitterness of the same minute 

 quantity is perceptible in every drop of six or eight gallons 

 of water in which it is dissolved. 



It may be stated at once, that the quantity of strychnine, 

 which we find necessary to impart to beer the degree of bit- 

 terness possessed by pale ales, is for a gallon of beer one 

 grain of strychnine, or double the fatal dose. The price of 

 strychnine is about sixteen shillings the ounce, which does 

 not amount to so much as one penny per grain. Estimating 

 the annual production of pale ale in Burton at 200,000 barrels, 

 the strychnine required as a bitter would, however, amount 

 to 16,448 ounces, and cost £13,158 ; while nobody believes 

 that so much as 1000 ounces of strychnine are manufactured 

 over the whole world. The bitterness obtained by means of 

 strychnine is equal in degree to that of the hop, but very differ- 

 ent in kind, and easily distinguished when the two bitters are 

 compared. The bitter of the hop is immediate in its action 

 upon the palate, is accompanied by a fragrant aroma, and 

 soon passes off; whilst that of strychnine is # not so instan- 

 taneous ; but when the impression is once made it is more 

 lasting, and becomes, from its persistence, like that of a me- 



