On Adulteration of Acetate of Morphine. 110 
ART. XXVIII.— REPORT TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE 
COLLEGE OF PHARMACY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, ON 
AN ADULTERATION OF ACETATE OF MORPHINE, &c. 
Your committee of inspection respectfully report, that a 
specimen purporting to be acetate of morphine, was sub- 
mitted to them by Mr. William L. Rushton, and said to be 
part of the contents of the same vial of spurious acetate of 
morphine spoken of in the last number of the American Jour- 
nal of Pharmacy, and which was obtained from the house of 
Messrs. W. and L. Krumbhaar, of Philadelphia* 
Your committee examined the article and readily came to 
the conclusion that it was a sophistication. In order, how- 
ever, to ascertain the constituents of the article, a portion of 
it was submitted to William H> Ellet, M. D., Professor of 
Chemistry in Columbia College, whose statement of the 
analysis is subjoined. 
Messrs. Rushton and Aspinwall had previously submitted 
a portion, for analysis, to Messrs. J. Leowolf & Co., manu- 
facturing chemists of this city, whose account we have ob- 
tained, and submit with that of Dr. Ellit. The conclusion in 
both is the same, viz.: that the powder purporting to be ace- 
tate of morphine, is entirely spurious, consisting of sulphate 
of lime, and a little free sulphuric acid, but resembling in its 
colour the genuine acetate of morphine. 
Your committee, bearing in mind how essential the purity 
of preparations such as those of morphine are, to the suffer- 
ing and the dying, cannot attribute the present case to a cu- 
pidity so atrocious ; bujt are rather led to the conclusion that 
it must have arisen from error or accident occurring at the 
laboratory of the manufacturer. 
Your committee also submit a specimen of a powder, 
ground by order of, and sold by a large drug-house in this 
city, as powdered colocynth. The taste of aloes is very dis- 
tinct in this powder, and it probably consists of aloes, with 
