100 
ADULTERATED  POWDERED  SOCOTRINE  ALOES. 
Specimen  A  presents  the  form  of  masses  of  a  conglomerated 
powder,  of  coarse  texture,  with  numerous  minute  woody-fibres 
disseminated  through  it,  and  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  When 
breathed  upon,  it  exhales  the  odor  of  true  socotrine  aloes  ;  it  gives 
a  yellowish-brown  slightly  greenish  colored  powder,  very  gritty 
under  the  spatula,  and  evidently  consists  of  that  variety  of  aloes, 
admixed  with  other  matter,  partly  ligneous,  and  partly  inorganic. 
Specimen  B  is  a  mass  and  fragments,  rendered  friable  by  a 
thorough  dessication,  effected  with  a  view  to  powdering,  and 
readily  brakes  up  when  handled.  Its  color  in  mass  is  reddish 
Drown,  modified  by  the  fissures  on  its  surface ;  possesses  the  odor 
of  true  socotrine  aloes,  and  affords  a  deep  orange  yellow  powder 
when  recently  triturated. 
The  specimen  A  is  part  of  a  lot  of  about  1000  pounds  sent  to 
a  Western  druggist  from  New  York,  and  refused  on  the  ground  of 
its  not  being  of  good  quality.  The  druggist  in  New  York  asserts 
that  the  aloes  was  pure  when  sent  to  be  powdered,  as  a  retained 
sample,  which  was  submitted  to  an  analytical  chemist  in  that 
city,  was  pronounced  to  be  of  good  quality. 
The  specimen  B  was  a  sample  of  a  lot  of  aloes  powdered  and 
sent  to  the  same  Western  druggist  by  another  party,  and  which 
proved  satisfactory. 
In  the  following  statement  relative  to  the  treatment  of  100 
grains  of  each  specimen,  it  must  be  understood  that  each  result 
was  obtained  from  a  separate  quantity,  and  not  from  the  same  por- 
tion. 
Specimen  A. 
100  grs.  contained  42  grains,  insoluble  in  cold  water. 
100    "  33  grs.,  insoluble  in  boiling  water. 
100    "       "         10  grs.  apotheme  or  altered  aloein,  deposited 
from  the  solution  in  boiling  water  by  cooling. 
100    "   yielded    13  grs.  of  incombustible  ash  when  incinerated 
in  a  platina  crucible. 
33  grs.  of  residue  insoluble  in  )  12  grs.  of  incombustible  ash  by 
boiling  wateryielded.  y  incineration. 
100  grains  yielded  37  grs.  insoluble  in  alcohol  35°  Baume. 
Specimen  B. 
100  grs.  contained  33  grs.,  insoluble  in  cold  water. 
100  grs.  20  grs.,  insoluble  in  boiling  water. 
100  grs.  12  grs.  apotheme  or  altered  aloein. 
