496 
Properties  of  two  Rhomnus  Barks. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Oct.,  1885. 
adulteration  was  reported  in  1869,  in  France,  by  Blacher,  and  in 
1870,  in  Switzerland  by  Rehsteiner,  in  England  by  Hanbury,  and  in 
the  United  States  by  me.  Gypsum  was  also  observed  as  an  adultera- 
tion  in  the  year  1869  ("'N.  Jahrb.  Pliar.,^^  xxxii,  xxxiii),  and  since 
that  time  both  calcium  salts,  occasionally  also  the  corresponding  barium 
salts,  have  been  invariably  found  as  fraudulent  admixtures  in  certain 
grades  of  Alicante  saffron,  rendered  somewhat  adhesive  by  means  of 
honey,  glucose  or  glycerin,  which  substances,  owing  to  their  hygro- 
scopic nature,  have  the  additional  advantage  of  preventing  the  saffron 
from  getting  too  dry. 
Adulterations  with  exhausted  saffron  were  practiced  at  an  early  day, 
and  are  mentioned,  in  1718,  by  John  Quincy  Pharmacopoeia  offici- 
nalis et  extemporanea,"  p.  164),  and  in  1733  by  James  Alleyne 
("  Engl.  Dispens.,"  p.  36). 
The  conclusion  that  may  be  drawn  from  these  facts  and  statements 
is  that  saffron,  in  common  with  every  medicinal  article,  should  be  care- 
fully examined  by  the  purchaser  for  all  possible  admixtures ;  for 
unceasing  vigilance  is  the  best  if  not  the  only  guarantee  for  the  purity 
of  drugs. 
ON  THE  MEDICAL  PROPERTIES  OF  TWO  RHAMNUS 
BARKS. 
By  George  W.  Kennedy. 
Head  before  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association. 
Query  21.  Is  there  any  difference  in  the  laxative  action  of  Rhamnus; 
Purshiana  and  Rhamnus  Catharticus? 
Experiments  undertaken  with  the  view  of  answering  this  quer}^  . 
require  considerable  time  and  labor,  since  a  number  of  important 
points  are  to  be  taken  into  consideration  in  order  to  be  able  to  reach  a 
satisfactory  conclusion,  and  the  omission  of  either  one  will  cause  more 
or  less  uncertainty  in  the  results.  One  of  these  results  is  the  proof 
that  the  two  drugs  under  consideration  require  somewhat  different 
menstruums  for  stable  liquid  preparations,  since  the  menstruum  which 
will  thoroughly  exhaust  the  virtues  of  one  of  the  drugs  and  hold  the 
principles  in  perfect  solution,  will  not  answer  for  the  other.  In  order 
to  ascertain  if  possible  the  relative  strength  of  these  two  drugs  the 
fluid  extracts  were  believed  to  be  the  most  convenient  and  satisfactory^ 
form  for  experimentation,  and  they  were  prepared  as  follows : 
