228  Standard  for  Flavoring  Extracts.  {Am-May%9os!irm" 
in  the  Pharmacopoeia,  raspberry,  strawberry  and  rose  extracts,  when 
examined,  proved  to  be  artificially  dyed  with  good  coal-tar  dyes  and 
guaranteed  not  to  fade. 
Inspection  of  extracts  in  North  Dakota  in  1906,  has  shown  that 
only  44  per  cent,  of  lemon  extracts  responded  to  the  official  strength, 
while  56  per  cent,  were  deficient  in  strength,  artificially  colored,  and 
one  sample,  indeed,  contained  as  little  as  0-31  per  cent,  of  oil.  Of 
the  vanilla  extracts  examined,  60  per  cent,  were  either  artificially 
colored,  synthetic  products  or  short  in  measure,  and  only  40  per 
cent,  answered  standard  requirements.  Of  miscellaneous  flavors, 
representing  wintergreen,  orange,  compound  banana  and  raspberry 
extracts,  not  one  responded  to  either  the  official  or  legal  standards. 
Here  is  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  considerably  further  east  than 
North  Dakota,  and  examining  the  reports  of  the  Massachusetts 
State  Board  of  Health  for  1901  we  find  the  following  more  interest- 
ing figures:  Of  167  samples  of  lemon  extracts  examined,  represent- 
ing about  100  brands  (every  brand  sold  in  Massachusetts),  139 
samples  were  classed  adulterated,  or  about  83-25  per  cent,  and  only 
16*75  per  cent,  were  up  to  the  standard.  Of  the  inferior  or  adul- 
terated extracts  42  samples  contained  no  lemon  oil  at  all,  and  one 
was  made  of  oil  other  than  lemon.  In  alcohol  strength  they  ranged 
from  4  to  45  per  cent.,  usually  colored  with  either  dinitro-cresol, 
tropaeolin,  or  coal-tar  dyes,  or  turmeric.  In  the  vanilla  extracts 
examined,  such  appetizing  substances  as  bay  rum,  burnt  sugar, 
balsam  peru,  etc.,  were  found.  They  were  either  very  poor  extracts 
or  entirely  artificial,  and  their  alcohol  content  ranged  from  5  per 
cent,  to  20  per  cent. 
This  conspectus,  covering  the  examination  of  flavoring  extracts 
in  but  two  States — North  Dakota  and  Massachusetts — is  very  inter- 
esting to  us  pharmacists  for  two  very  important  reasons : 
First,  because  it  demonstrates  that  66-f-  per  cent,  of  the  flavoring 
extracts  examined  in  North  Dakota  were  illegally  exhibited  for 
sale  by  grocers,  department  stores  and  dealers  in  table  luxuries. 
Second,  because  the  examination  of  the  tables  exhibited  shows 
uniformly  that  almost  all,  if  not  quite  all,  the  samples  were  made  by 
wholesale  grocery-supply  houses  and  other  self-styled  and  so-called 
"  extract  manufacturers";  and  in  Massachusetts  the  conditions  were 
equally  bad,  and  in  some  cases  worse. 
Let  us  next  take  a  look  in  another  direction,  in  a  direction  where 
