ON DRUG GRINDING. 
203 
whole catalogue of drugs to powder; and on asking him what the 
difficulty was, he replied, quite innocently, " the alum always 
stuck the stones fast." Here was the secret ; it seems it was the 
custom of the concern to grind alum with their cream tartar, and 
I saw in a moment the whole cause of this man's trouble and diffi- 
culty. Now I have not the slightest idea that this was ever done 
by the order or with the knowledge of any respectable druggist of 
this city. I have frequently heard (and I believe it is notorious) 
of this being extensively practised elsewhere, but this is the only 
instance that I ever knew or heard of its being done in this city. 
It has frequently struck me as something singular, that in the 
manufacture of blue mass, I have never, in any instance, been 
asked or required by any one to make it of less proportion than 
one-third mercury. I have seen published at different times, here 
and in New York, analyses of different manufacturers' make, 
foreign and domestic, greatly falling short of their due proportion 
of mercury; yet, strange to say, I have been making it for years 
past — have made tons of it — the druggists send me all the mate- 
rials to make it of, and in no single instance has it ever come to 
me in any other proportion than one-third of mercury. Here, 
again, I have no interest in this matter. It is of no consequence 
to me, pecuniarily, whether it comes in the proportion of one-third, 
one-fourth, or one-fifth mercury. I do not deal in the article, and I 
merely mention this in proof of what I have before stated as to the 
general correctness of the druggists of this city. Blue mass of my 
manufacture is in many hands — scattered in every direction — it 
is no great difficulty to make an analysis of it, and I fearlessly 
challenge investigation in proof of what I have stated above. 
In speaking of the adulteration of drugs, I do not include those 
that come under the head of" spices." In these, here and every- 
where, there is the most vile and abominable system of adultera- 
tion prevailing — not with druggists, however. I grind spices for 
many of them, and am never required to adulterate them, except 
in one article — ginger. To satisfy some of their customers, they 
are sometimes obliged to furnish a common and cheaper article of 
ginger. On these occasions, and they are rare, I grind a portion 
of corn with it, but it is done openly, always, I believe, with the 
knowledge of the purchaser, and sold as a common or adulterated 
article. This is the only exception in spices or anything else 
