18 
ORIGINAL 
COMMUNICATIONS. 
intelligent pharmaceutists generally, to keep notes of all such 
instances of adulteration and falsification as may from time to 
time fall under their notice, and send them for insertion in 
this Journal. By this means we may eventually obtain a bod}?- 
of as useful information, respecting the corruptions existing 
in our own drug and chemical market, as the valuable work 
of BussY and Boutron-Charlard embraces w^ith regard to 
those of France. 
Balsam of Fir. — A druggist of another city offered us an 
article under this name at such a price as to excite suspicions 
respecting its quality. On inspection and inquiry it appeared to 
be Chio Turpentine, the resin of the Pistacia Terebinthus, and 
not of the Pinus Balsamea. It is of a deeper colour than the 
true Canada Balsam, and of a stronger smell. It is put up in 
bottles similarly to the genuine article, which it pretty closely 
resembles. 
Iodine. — A lot of Iodine, purchased some months since, 
appeared very partially soluble, and was found to contain a 
considerable proportion of powdered coal. The coal had been 
powdered rather coarsely, and the impalpable portion sifted 
out and rejected, leaving it in particles about the twentieth of 
an inch in diameter, which were readily merged in the mass 
of the Iodine. No note was taken at the time, either of the 
proportion of the adulteration, or of the country whence the 
Iodine was imported.* 
Potassse Citras. — We imported from London a few months 
ago an article under this name, which we supposed of course 
to be an actual combination of potassa and citric acid. It 
was found, however, to be a mere mixture of bicarbonate of 
potassa with the powdered acid and an agreeable proportion 
* Since wridng the above, I observe a similar adulteration of Iodine 
mentioned by Bussv & Boutron-Charlard as having been detected by 
Chevallier. 
