INSECT POWDER. 17 
In 1851 Koch (161) noted that in Transcaucasia the Persian insect 
powder is adulterated with flowers of Pyrethrum corymbosum and 
other similar plants, and in Germany with chamomile. De Visiani 
(67), in 1854, mentioned the flowers of the common chamomile, 
Anthemis cotula, Anihemis arvensis, and Spartium junceum, as 
adulterants. In one of the earliest accounts of the nature of insect 
powder, that of Noodt (205), written in 1858, it is stated that the 
producers, in order to satisfy the great demand for the product, 
grind not only flowers, but also stems and leaves, thereby detracting 
from the quality. He states that merchants in Germany also were 
in the habit of mixing fresh consignments with old, long-kept goods 
which had deteriorated with age. Schenck (242), in 1859, noted 
the use of German chamomile as an adulterant. 
In 1861 Willemot (294) said that the numerous adulterations 
which insect powder imported into France between 1850 and 1860 
had undergone prevented the public from appreciating its efficacy. 
He mentioned the following as having been found in various powders : 
Sumac powder, jalap, cockle of Levant, nux vomica, and arsenic. 
Abel (1) reports that Persian insect powder was adulterated with 
fleabane and chamomile flowers at the time of its introduction to the 
American market, shortly before 1860. 
Schlotshauber (247), in 1862, found the Persian powder to contain 
a variety of Pyrethrum corymbosum W., Pyrethrum tenuifolium 
Tenore, and a variety of Anthemis arvensis Linn. Landerer (167, 
168), in 1875-1877, mentioned the following as adulterants: Anthemis 
cotula, Chrysanthemum segetum, Matricaria parthenium. In 1875 
Miller (196) reported that old-stock German or Roman chamomile 
flowers were ground up with insect powder. 
Lead chromate as an adulterant appears to be first mentioned by 
Grote (108) in 1880. In the same year, Krai (164) reported finding 
a number of samples colored with curcuma,' but none with lead chro- 
mate. Howie (139), in 1883, gave a method for the detection of 
fustic, which he found as an added coloring matter in insect powder. 
At a meeting of the Liverpool Chemists' Association in March, 1883, 
Conroy (50) exhibited samples of imported insect powder which were 
heavily adulterated with fustic. Schwarz (250), in 1888, reported 
finding a sample colored with an alcoholic solution of curcuma. 
Mason, in discussing a paper by Kirkby (156), reports having had 
a sample of " Dalmatian insect powder' ' which contained 60 per cent 
of sumac and 30 per cent of chamomile. Howie, in the same article, 
mentions that he found a large proportion of potato starch in a cheap 
powder. 
Unger (282, 283, 284), 1888-1890, found the following adulterants 
in insect powder: Pyrethrum stems, barium chromate, lead chro- 
139815°— 20— Bull. 824 2 
