^epfemberfim'}     Salicylic  Acid  and  Sodium  Salicylate.  405 
terated  mostly  with  the  synthetic  methyl  salicylate,  and  this  adul- 
teration has  been  of  the  most  difficult  to  detect,  possessing,  as  it 
does,  about  the  same  chemical  composition  and  with  physical 
characteristics  nearly  identical.  At  one  time  it  was  possible  to 
obtain  this  oil  from  the  distillers  direct,  without  any  fear  of  sophisti- 
cation ;  but  at  present,  especially  in  Pennsylvania,  the  distillers 
themselves  are  adulterating  their  product  before  shipment,  and  large 
consumers  of  this  product  have  been  compelled  to  withdraw  from 
this  source  of  supply  and  now  buy  in  other  localities. 
Very  ingenious  means  are  employed  both  by  jobbers  and  distillers 
to  deceive  the  consumer.  For  instance,  they  will  furnish  several 
shipments  of  a  high  grade  of  oil  of  wintergreen  at  a  low  price ;  then 
follow  with  shipments  of  an  oil  that  is  shamefully  adulterated,  and 
it  can  be  readily  seen  the  source  of  profit  if  such  methods  are  suc- 
cessful. At  present,  the  lowest  price  at  which  the  true  oil  of  winter- 
green  from  the  wintergreen  leaves  is  sold  is  $2.25  per  pound.  The 
true  oil  from  birch  is  $1.90,  while  the  synthetic  oil  is  easily  procured 
at  42  cents,  and  so-called  "  true  oils  "  can  be  purchased  at  almost 
any  price,  depending  upon  the  amount  of  adulteration.  To  show 
the  inconsistency  ot  prices  sometimes  offered,  I  relate  an  experience 
of  a  large  buyer.  This  gentleman,  at  one  time,  held  two  letters, 
one  from  a  prominent  jobber  of  New  York  offering  a  distiller  of  this 
oil  $2.25  per  pound  for  his  product,  and  the  other'an  offer  from  the 
same  jobber  to  this  gentleman  to  supply  an  oil  of  wintergreen 
"guaranteed  strictly  pure  natural"  at  $1.75.  The  price  asked  for 
true  oil  of  wintergreen  is  not  always  a  criterion  of  its  purity,  and  it 
is  necessary  to  employ  such  tests  as  prove  the  absence  or  presence 
of  adulterants ;  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  out  of  the  question  to 
suppose  that  a  pure  product  either  in  the  oil,  acid  or  sodium  salt  can 
be  obtained  at  a  price  which  is  below  the  first  cost  of  the  true  oil 
or  cost  of  manufacture  from  such  an  oil,  which  is  at  times  as  high  as 
$2.50  a  pound.  It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  the  retailer 
cannot  be  held  responsible  for  an  article  that  is  impure  when  he  has 
endeavored  to  secure  this  article  by  specifying  and  paying  for  a 
product  supposed  to  be  pure.  It  is  impossible  for  a  small  purchaser 
to  employ  exhaustive  methods  of  analysis,  and  to  a  large  degree 
he  must  be  dependent  upon  the  integrity  of  the  jobber  and  manu- 
facturer. 
The  specific  gravity,  boiling-point  and  optical  rotation  are  useful 
