ON THE ADULTERATION OP DRUG: 
133 
the chemical manufacturers. From what was formerly stated 
in respect of iodine and the hydriodate of potash, it is plain 
that in some of these establishments spurious drugs are wil- 
fully prepared and fraudulently sold. In one of the instances 
adverted to, a representation was made to the manufacturers 
at my request, but without occasioning, at least for a twelve- 
month, any improvement in the quality of an article which at 
the time had an extensive sale in both England and Scotland. 
I have met with other instances somewhat similar. I have 
also met with instances where, upon inquiry, the inferior 
quality of the preparation was found to have arisen from 
accidental oversight, and with others where the cause was in 
all probability the want of adequate skill. It must be farther 
added, that a few expensive drugs, the produce of the chemical 
manufactories, are always impure, because they cannot be pu- 
rified except at an enormous loss, while even in their impure 
condition they are both sufficiently dear and also quite active 
enough. Thus strychnia and veratria, as prepared for medical 
use, are invariably very impure, to the extent generally of at 
least fifty per cent., being never prepared in a state of purity 
except for the scientific chemist; and the reason simply is, 
that in their ordinary commercial state they are sufficiently 
energetic and very costly, while the pure alkaloids possess 
no particular advantage in a medicinal point of view, and 
could not be sold for less than twice or thrice the cost. 
From such inquiries as I have hitherto been able to institute, 
it would appear that, deducting, as seems reasonable, the in- 
stances where the impurity is either allowable or accidental 
merely, the adulteration of chemical drugs by manufacturers 
themselves is very far from being prevalent. There is, on 
the contrary, great emulation among chemical manufacturers 
to produce articles of the finest quality; very many of their 
most important products are, in all probability, never inten- 
tionally adulterated; and certainly no retailer can be at any 
loss to obtain by far the greater part of drugs of this sort in a 
state of sufficient purity for medical use. A curious illustra- 
