May 18, 1872.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
921 
THE MICROSCOPE IN PHARMACY. 
BY HENRY POCKLINGTOX. 
Psychotria Emetjca —Striated Ipecacuanha.—This 
is little known to British commerce,* and not ob¬ 
tainable through the ordinary channels of trade, 
except perhaps at rare intervals. Hence, I suspect 
it is not so commonly used as an adulterant as is 
generally supposed. Its structure is so like that of 
Caphaelis that a very brief notice of it will suffice. 
Careful observation alone could enable the analyst 
to suspect its presence as an adulterant; and he would 
hardly be justified in pronouncing positively about 
it without the corroborative evidence of chemical 
analysis. The difference between these two Ipeca¬ 
cuanhas are in degree rather than in kind, so far as 
relate to their microscopic anatomy. The cells of 
the medulla in Psychotria are larger, more pitted, and 
more disposed towards secondary deposits. Their 
contents, starch granules, vary too much in size and 
shape to afford the basis of correct diagnosis ; but the 
granules are less aggregated than in Gephaelis. The 
cells of the wood zone are larger in Psychotria and 
are much more thickened with sclerogen deposits. 
If a transverse section be treated with acidum 
nitricum (B. P. strength) for five minutes, and re¬ 
moved to a drop of pure glycerine, in which it is 
allowed to macerate for about ten minutes before 
being transferred to fresh glycerine for observation, 
the successive layers of the sclerogenous deposit will 
be beautifully demonstrated. The outline of these 
wood cells, as seen in transverse section, is less de¬ 
cidedly angular than in Gephaelis, but is less oval 
than in Riclianlsonia. As in Gephaelis, they con¬ 
tain starch granules, but their pitting is more pro¬ 
nounced than in the true Ipecacuanha, but the cells 
appear more independent of each other and more 
easily isolated. The cells of the cortical zone are 
very irregularly shaped, have exceedingly thin walls, 
and vary much in size near the woody zone, at the 
circumference of which they approximate to the 
pleurenchyma cells of the ordinary vascular sheath, 
spiral vessels being absent. A few raphide recep- 
tacula are present, the raphides being acicular. The 
botanical characteristics of the two Ipecacuanhas 
are too well known to require comment, and are 
much more striking than the microscopic ones. 
Bichardsoxia ScABRA.f—This I suspect is much 
more commonly present in pulv. ipecacuanha than the 
foregoing, and is fortunately much more easily recog- 
* Mr. Jas. Collins, in kindly replying to some queries about 
it, informs me be bas seen but one parcel in tbe market. 
t Tbe specimens from which my description is taken were 
procured tbrougb commercial channels by tbe kindness of my 
friend Mr. R. Bellamy, of Hull. I am in consequence not 
confident as to the correctness of tbe specific name. They 
reached us unnamed. 
Since the foregoing description of Riebardsonia was 
sent to press, Mr. James Collins bas kindly sent me a speci¬ 
men of genuine R. Scabra, wbicb presents many structural 
differences from that previously described. In the specimen 
now referred to, tbe wood zone contains numerous pitted 
vascular ducts of considerable size. Tbe wood cells are some¬ 
what irregularly distributed, but are in other respects similar 
to those already described. Tbe cells of tbe cortical zone of 
tbe true R. Scabra are less decidedly hexagonal, their walls 
are thinner and somewhat sinuous. Their contents are 
starch granules, wbicb are less angular in form, tbe separate 
granules being often round, with a distinct but variable bilum. 
There are fewer raphides present. Tbe doubt expressed in 
xny footnote is thus confirmed so far as regards the specific 
name of tbe specimen described. 
nizable, though its general structure accords with 
that of Gephaelis. It is much more easily dis¬ 
tinguished from either of the others by its ordinary 
botanical characters than by its microscopical,through 
the absence of medulla, and the great proportion of 
starch can leave but little doubt as to its presence 
or not in any given powder. 
The diameter of the wood zone is exceedingly 
small in proportion to that of the cortical zone. The 
woody fibres resemble those of Gephaelis more 
than the fibres of Psychotria, but in some of them 
a spiral deposit may be made out with the aid 
of nitric acid, a high power and careful illumination. 
They are much more regular in outline, as seen in 
transverse section, and are somewhat oval, sometimes 
nearly circular. The cells of the cortical zone are 
more regular than in either of the others, and in 
horizontal section are often hexagonal in shape ; 
are full of starch, which lies somewhat loosely within 
the cells. The starch granules differ in shape from 
those of Gephaelis, being more angular, and less dis¬ 
posed to form aggregate granules. Their polariscope 
reaction appears to be identical. In addition to the 
adulterants named in my notes on Gephaelis, I will 
now mention the starch of Arachis hypoyea the origin 
of which troubled me for a long time until a friend 
kindly gave me apiece of oilcake, which he said was 
adulterated with “ ground-nut buffum,” and I re¬ 
cognized therein an old but nameless friend I lm r e 
repeatedly met with in cocoa and chocolate, and but 
yesterday in fresh butter .* 
(To be continued.) 
SUBSTITUTION OF CARBOLIC OR PHENIC 
ACID FOR CREASOTE. 
COMMUNICATED BY MR. T. N. R. MORSON. 
The value of the wood creasote of Iteichenbach 
as a remedial agent, and its employment in the pre¬ 
servation of articles used as food, has been fully 
proved during the forty years we have been manu¬ 
facturers of this article. 
Of late years its reputation has suffered from the 
substitution of carbolic or plienic acid for true crea¬ 
sote ; and as no good test to distinguish these bodies 
has been published (and those of our Pharma¬ 
copoeia are for this purpose useless), we shall feel 
obliged by your publishing a very simple means for 
distinguishing these two bodies, which my son, Mr. 
Tlios. Morson, has discovered in making some expe¬ 
riments on adulterated samples submitted to us. 
This test is glycerine, in which true creasote is 
insoluble, or nearly so. Carbolic or plienic acid, on 
the contrary, dissolves in all proportions, and any 
large amount of this latter substance, it mixed with 
true creasote, will render the creasote soluble.. 
The danger of substituting carbolic or plienic acid 
for creasote to be used internally or for food is well 
known. 
To test a suspected sample, mix it with an equal 
quantity of pure glycerine. It they unite and make 
a clear solution, the substance is carbolic acid, or in. 
greater part consists of it. 
* In company with salt, sug;ar, stearine, water, brains, 
etc., and sold at dairy butter price in a respectable shop, whenco 
it wound its way to my tea-table. 
