244  An  Adulteration  of  Aconite  Root.      { Am^-J7^rm 
280  grs.  of  sulphurous  acid,  he  recommends  at  least  five  times  the 
quantity  named  above,  so  that  the  room  might  contain  one-tenth  per 
cent,  of  the  disinfecting  gas. — Ibidy  Dec.  15. 
Spiritus  Formicarum  Containing  Lead. — A.  Geheeb  reports 
having  met  with  this  spirit,  which  is  still  often  used  as  a  domestic 
remedy  in  some  parts  of  Germany,  containing  considerable  lead,  which 
was  probably  dissolved  from  the  cooler. — Archiv  d.  Phar.,  Jan.,  1877, 
41-  
AN  ADULTERATION  OF  ACONITE  ROOT. 
By  E.  M.  Holmes,  F.L.S., 
Curator  of  the  Museum  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society. 
Aconite  root  possesses  such  powerful  properties  that  it  is  very  im- 
portant the  medicinal  article  should  be,  as  far  as  possible,  of  uniform 
strength  and  quality.  Yet  this  is  by  no  means  the  case,  for  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  find  in  a  commercial  sample  one  root  in  a  dozen  which  upon 
fracture  appears  sound  and  in  good  condition.  This  is  due,  according 
to  Hanbury,  to  its  being  gathered  indiscriminately  by  peasants,  who 
regard  neither  the  most  advantageous  time  for  collection,  nor  the  proper 
species.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  considering  that  the  wholesale 
price  in  this  country  is  as  low  as  6d.  per.  lb.  As  the  root  is  sold  by 
the  German  peasants  to  buyers  who  obtain  a  profit  by  supplying  whole- 
sale dealers  in  Germany,  and  these  again  have  to  obtain  a  profit  before 
it  is  exported  to  this  country,  it  is  obvious  that  the  prices  paid  to  the 
peasants  must  be  too  small  to  pay  for  careful  collection. 
In  some  districts  aconite  root  is  said  to  be  gathered  by  intelligent 
herb  and  root  collectors,  who  are  well  acquainted  with  the  plants  they 
gather,  but  what  is  collected  by  them  is  probably  retained  for  home 
consumption,  and  the  inferior  samples  exported. 
From  the  cheapness  of  the  root,  and  from  the  fact  that  few  roots 
have  the  distinctly  conical  appearance  of  aconite,  it  is  evident  that  it 
would  scarcely  pay  to  adulterate  it.  Adulteration,  then,  must  either 
result  from  careless  collection  or  from  accidental  admixture. 
The  root  which  has  lately  been  found  mixed  with  aconite  is  that  of 
Masterwort  Imperatoria  Ostruthium,  Lin.,  an  umbelliferous  plant,  offi- 
cial in  the  Edinburgh  Pharmacopoeia  so  late  as  1792.  It  is  a  native  of 
mountainous  countries,  and  grows  in  similar  districts  to  those  in  which 
aconite  is  found.  As  it  is  still  official  in  the  German  Pharmacopoeia, 
its  accidental  occurrence  in  aconite  root  from  Germany  is  not  surprising. 
Its  value  in  this  country  is  double  that  of  aconite  root,  and  it  is 
