EDITORIAL OBSERVATIONS. 
723 
wood and Mr. Phillips, that the extent of adulteration had 
been much exaggerated, and that as far as the tests were 
concerned, they had not been fairly dealt with. 
Mr. Postgate stated with regard to the adulteration of Mus- 
tard, that there was not a conventional standard by which 
medical men could estimate the strength in writing their 
prescriptions. On the contrary, medical men were greatly 
perplexed in consequence of the variation in quality of this 
substance. It was adulterated with flour and turmeric. 
“ Drugs were much adulterated ; quinine contained an alkaloid obtained 
from the willow bark, called salicine, the price of which was Is. 9 d., while 
quinine cost 9s. Quinidine was often used for it. Tamarinds w T ere found 
adulterated, sometimes with sulphuric acid. Milk of sulphur contained often 
50 per cent, of plaster of Paris. Scammony, white precipitate, oxide of 
antimony, and various other preparations were all more or less adulterated. 
“ The witness here produced samples of a medicine sold as ‘ concentrated 
castor-oil capsules,’ which contained nothing but croton-oil, which was a 
very violent purgative. Castor-oil could not be concentrated, and therefore 
these capsules were a gross imposition, and the sale of these capsules still 
continued at Birmingham. He had also examined various essential oils at 
one shop, all of which were adulterated with fixed oils, which materially 
affected their value. Witness here produced to the Committee several letters 
from druggists and others, confirming the existence of great adulteration in 
drugs. One letter stated, many lives had been lost owing to the use of 
adulterated drugs. 
“ Mr. H. Letheby , M.B., Professor of Chemistry and Toxicology in the 
Medical College of the London Hospital, said he was employed in making 
the analyses for the Lancet and had been engaged for fourteen years pre- 
vious to that time in similar investigation for the work of Dr. Pereira on 
* Materia Medica.’ He considered adulteration in all substances was most 
extensive. These adulterations were of various kinds — viz., 1 accidental,’ 
including such instances as £ insects in flour,’ copper in jams and jellies, in 
consequence of the acid of the fruits acting upon the copper vessels. Some 
fraudulent adulterations were for the purpose of adding weight, as, for in- 
stance, mixing inferior arrowroot with the best quality, starch sugar made 
from diseased potatoes with the pure sorts, and the mixture of gelatine and 
isinglass might come under the same head, as well as the addition of water to 
vinegar and porter. He did not quite agree with the evidence of Mr. Wal- 
lington with respect to gelatine and isinglass. There was no distinction 
chemically, but a great distinction as regarded price, flavour, and action 
upon the stomach. He could not agree that the only difference was that the 
gelatine was more pure than isinglass, or that a person would be justified in 
selling gelatine under the name of isinglass. Chemically they were the same, 
but physiologically they were quite distinct. To a delicate stomach the dif- 
ference would be very great. Another class of adulteration was to give a 
false strength, such as adding sulphuric acid to vinegar. The mixture poor 
people were in the habit of pouring over the oysters they bought at the 
street stalls was merely diluted sulphuric acid. ‘Black jack,’ or roasted 
sugar, was employed to give false strength to coffee. A third class of adul- 
teration was for the purpose of improving the appearance of articles. Bor 
instance, facing teas, the salts of copper found in pickles and preserved fruits, 
