Am'oc0tUrij8arm*  )  The  Microscope  in  the  Drug  Store.  687 
I  examined  it,  I  found  that  the  drug  was  not  only  ancient  but  ad- 
mixed with  hair,  dirt,  foreign  stems  and  a  foreign  leaf.  Subsequent 
microscopical  examination  showed  the  foreign  leaf  to  be  that  of 
Coriaria  myrtifolia,  a  poisonous  species,  which  no  doubt  was  col- 
lected with  the  marjoram.  Had  this  particular  druggist  purchased 
his  stock  of  sweet  marjoram  in  bulk  and  examined  it  microscopically, 
he  would  have  saved  this  customer,  for  despite  all  the  excuses  I 
could  manufacture  to  protect  the  druggist,  the  party  vowed  he  would 
never  go  back  to  that  store  for  anything. 
This  is  but  one  example  of  a  crude  drug  adulterated.  Numerous 
others  have,  and  still  are  being  adulterated.  Some  of  the  most  com- 
mon might  be  cited  as  poke  in  belladonna,  wafer  ash  bark  in  euony- 
mus,  ruellia  in  spigelia,  fagot  cinnamon  in  saigon  cinnamon,  Euro- 
pean rhubarb  in  Chinese  rhubarb,  safflower  in  saffron,  etc.,  etc. 
Many  instances  can  be  given  showing  the  value  of  the  microscope 
in  the  examination  of  powdered  drugs  and  spices  and  the  detection 
of  adulteration.  For  instance,  the  presence  of  saw-dust  in  white 
pine  bark,  powdered  mullein  and  elecampane  leaves  in  powdered 
digitalis,  wheat  middlings  in  ground  ginger,  powdered  bombay  mace 
in  mace,  the  endocarp  of  the  olive  in  ground  black  pepper,  etc. 
Not  long  ago  one  of  my  students  took  occasion  to  examine  some 
five-grain  acetyl-salicylic  acid  tablets  microscopically,  which  had 
been  purchased  by  his  preceptor  at  a  figure  slightly  below  that  of 
market  quotation.  He  was  surprised  to  find  in  these  considerable 
corn  starch.  A  quantitative  analysis  later  made  by  his  preceptor 
showed  that  the  five-grain  tablets  were  composed  of  three  grains  of 
acid  acetyl-salicylic  and  two  grains  of  corn  starch.  This  is  but  one 
of  the  numerous  cases  that  might  be  cited  to  show  the  value  of  the 
microscope  in  determining  the  purity  of  chemicals. 
Much  of  what  I  have  thus  far  shown  bears  upon  the  value  of 
the  microscope  in  determining  the  authenticity  of  the  article.  Let 
us  now  turn  to  the  money  side  of  the  question.  This  naturally  has 
a  strong  bearing  upon  the  quality  of  drugs  sold. 
Some  of  our  more  scrupulous  brethren  in  pharmacy  are  modestly 
and  quietly  examining  samples  of  the  drugs  they  handle  and  no 
doubt  reaping  their  reward  by  the  reputation  they  have  gained  for 
handling  and  dispensing  effective  medicaments.  But  how  much 
greater  might  be  the  returns,  if  they  were  to  advertise  the  fact  alike 
to  the  laity,  and  to  the  medical  profession. 
This  could  be  accomplished  through  the  medium  of  the  press,  by 
