198 
Laboratory  Notes. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1896. 
complete  chemical  reaction.  As  a  second  precaution,  the  percent, 
of  iron  in  a  sample  of  steel  filings  and  a  sample  of  wrought  iron 
filings  were  estimated  simultaneously  by  the  same  process  in  the 
same  bath.    The  following  results  were  obtained  : 
No. 
Color. 
Residue.  |  Metallic  Iron,  j  Sulphides. 
Arsenic. 
Grayish-black 
Gray. 
Black. 
Gray. 
Gray. 
Gray. 
1*12 
0-  45 
2-36 
1-  48 
1-83 
o-95 
2*21 
52*65 
84'34 
38*60 
78-97 
76-05 
81*90 
97*ii 
91*26 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
None. 
None. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Excess. 
Excess. 
Reaction. 
Neutral. 
Neutral. 
Neutral. 
Neutral. 
Neutral. 
Neutral. 
Neutral. 
Neutral. 
Nos.  7  and  8  represent  the  iron  filings.  They  were  No.  80  powder, 
that  is  a  little  coarser  than  reduced  iron  generally,  consequently 
they  were  less  readily  acted  on  by  the  mercuric  chloride.  This  and 
the  hardness  probably  account  for  the  lower  percent,  of  iron  in 
No.  8,  which  was  steel. 
SAFFRON. 
For  an  exhaustive  study  on  the  examination  of  this  drug  the 
writer  can  do  no  better  than  to  refer  the  reader  to  an  excellent 
article  by  the  late  Prof.  Maisch.1  Saffron  appears  to  retain  its  repu- 
tation as  being  largely  adulterated.  Of  the  seventeen  samples  of 
Spanish  saffron  examined  during  the  past  few  years,  five  were 
weighted  with  barium  sulphate,  three  contained  added  coloring  mat- 
ter, in  one  of  these  at  least  ten  per  cent,  of  the  yellow  filaments  were 
included,  one  contained  fibres  resembling  fine  "  excelsior  "  broken  up 
and  dyed,  while  the  remaining  eight  were  pure.  Some  of  the  samples 
contained  rather  too  many  yellow  styles,  not  sufficient  to  pronounce 
the  article  adulterated,  but  a  sufficient  number  to  make  it  quite  profit- 
able to  the  producer  to  have  them  there.  Even  1  or  2  per  cent, 
would  be  quite  an  item  with  such  an  expensive  drug. 
As  regards  added  coloring  matter,  a  word  may  not  be  amiss.  On 
adding  benzin  to  a  freshly  received  sample,  a  decided  yellow  color 
was  imparted  to  the  former.  On  adding  the  benzin  to  an  air-dried 
sample  in  the  laboratory,  no  coloration  was  produced.    A  sample 
1  1885,  Am.  J.  Pharm.,  52,487. 
