Am.  Jour.  Pharru.  \ 
March,  1902.  / 
Recent  Drug  Adulterations. 
141 
genuine  honey  of  this  country  reported  as  being  dextro-rotatory, 
and  until  such  an  authentic  observation  is  made,  which  is  possible, 
a  dextro-rotatory  honey  must  be  looked  upon  with  suspicion. 
THE  ADULTERATION  OF  ERGOT  OF  RYE. 
The  Paint,  Oil  and  Drug  Reporter  contains  a  letter  which  informs 
us  that  ordinary  rye  ergot  is  being  at  present  largely  adulterated 
with  ergot  of  wheat  and  barley  to  the  extent  of  from  30  to  40  per 
cent.  If  this  condition  of  affairs  exists,  it  certainly  is  very  unfor- 
tunate, because  very  few  manufacturers  in'  this  country  are  in  posi- 
tion to  detect  such  adulteration.  While  it  is  generally  known  that 
rye  ergot  contains  more  or  less  of  the  wheat  ergot,  it  is  generally 
believed  by  those  in  a  position  to  know  that  this  practice  does  not 
exist  to  the  extent  of  30  to  40  per  cent.  In  the  first  place,  ergot  of 
wheat  is  comparatively  a  scarce  article.  It  might  also  be  mentioned 
in  this  connection  that  various  authorities  who  have  examined  these 
ergots  find  that  the  wheat  ergot  is  probably  as  efficient  as  rye  ergot. 
In  fact,  the  wheat  ergot  seems  to  retain  its  active  properties  longer 
than  the  rye  ergot. 
VANILLA  BEAN,  ADULTERATED. 
Henri  Lecomte  (Bull.  des.  Sc.  Pharmacology  190 1)  notes  that 
the  presence  or  absence  of  a  crystalline  coating  on  the  vanilla 
bean  is  no  indication  of  its  quality.  According  to  this  author,  the 
Mexican  vanilla  beans,  which  are  classed  among  the  best,  are  always 
without  these  crystals.  He  further  states  that  the  crystalline 
appearance  is  frequently  an  artificial  covering  produced  by  the  addi- 
tion of  benzoic  acid.  This  adulteration  can  easily  be  detected  by 
determining  the  melting  point  of  the  crystalline  coat.  The  character 
of  the  crystals  can  be  detected  by  dissolving  a  trace  of  phloroglucin 
in  alcohol  on  a  watch-glass,  adding  an  equal  volume  of  hydrochloric 
acid;  then  introducing,  by  means  of  a  slender  glass  rod,  one  or  more 
of  the  minute  crystals  from  the  vanilla  pod  into  the  mixture,  and  a 
beautiful  red  color  will  be  produced,  if  it  is  vanillin,  whereas  benzoic 
acid  crystals  will  leave  the  mixture  colorless. 
IMITATION  PEPPER. 
Artificial  pepper  has  been  found  in  the  Switzerland  market.  These 
artificial  pepper  corns  are  slightly  smaller  than  the  genuine  berries, 
