( OCT o 7 * 
ON THE ADULTERATION OP DRUGS. 'M3$"W|- g 
mined, there is one which contained twenty per cent, of fecula, 
and about ten of lignin; and its active resin formed only 
thirty-seven per cent., being less than one-half of that of the 
genuine drug. This adulteration is not materially different 
from that indicated by Dioscorides; who says the makers of 
scammony mixed with it the 'o^ofiivov afovgov, the flour of a spe- 
cies of pulse, believed on the authority of Sibthorpe to be the 
Ervum ervilia, or bitter vetch. The amylaceous scammony 
presents commonly an ash-gray color, and generally a waxy, 
but at times a somewhat resinous lustre. The last adultera- 
tion of importance is with fecula and carbonate of lime toge- 
ther. The appearance of this sort is much the same with that 
of the last. Frequently where there is a large quantity of 
chalk, I have found about four per cent, of fecula, for the 
presence of which it is not very easy to account; but often 
also the proportion is much larger. In one specimen I have 
found 18.5 per cent, of carbonate of lime, and about seventeen 
of fecula and lignin; and the resin amounted to 42.5 per cent. 
Now, all these spurious samples, containing only about half 
the active ingredient of the pure drug, were considered to be 
fair average specimens of the scammony of the English mar- 
ket. It need scarcely be added, that the compound colocynth 
pill made with pure scammony, instead of the common article 
of the shops, is very different in power from the pill usually 
met w T ith. It has appeared to me, as we should expect, about 
twice as strong. 
S. Our knowledge of the adulterations of opium is far from 
being precise. There is no substance used in medicine, into 
which, on account of the vagueness of its external characters, 
and the exceeding complexity of its composition, impurities 
may be more easily introduced in such manner, as to escape 
the notice of the practical druggist, and the researches of 
chemical pharmacy. At the same time, it may be doubted 
whether the impurities indicated by pharmaceutic authors, 
such as stones, sand, saw-dust, or extract of poppy leaves, are 
of common occurrence. Most of these substances would be 
