ON  COMMERCIAL  BELLADONNA  LEAVES. 
125 
in  our  large  cities,  which  generally  keep  German  herbs  and 
pharmaceutical  preparations,  must  acknowledge  that  excellent 
herbs,  &c.  can  be  obtained  from  Germany  as  well  as  from  other 
countries.  But  there  appears  to  be  a  certain  class  of  drug  ex- 
porters in  Germany  who  consider  anything  good  enough  for 
the  American  market ;  and  of  importers  in  this  country,  who 
buy  an  article,  no  matter  of  what  quality,  provided  it  is  cheap 
and  labelled  like  the  best  one.  In  confirmation  of  this  state- 
ment, I  need  but  refer  to  the  controversy  in  some  German  jour- 
nals, a  short  time  ago,  between  large  distillers  of  volatile  oils, 
when  one  firm  frankly  acknowledges  that  the  oleum  carui  ex 
stipit.  noted  in  their  price  lists,  was  not  what  it  pretended  to 
be,  the  oil  distilled  from  the  chaif  and  stalks,  (Kiimmelspreu,) 
but  distilled  from  the  same  with  the  addition  of  oil  of  turpen- 
tine, and  that  it  was  prepared  solely  for  the  foreign  (American) 
market ;  thus  it  is  that  a  pound  of  so-called  oil  of  caraway  may 
be  bought  here  at  the  price  of  about  an  ounce  of  the  true  oil. 
If  there  were  no  buyers  here  for  such  adulterated  stuff,  the 
manufacturers  and  exporters  in  Europe  would  soon  find  it  an 
unpaying  business ;  as  long,  however,  as  they  can  profitably  dis- 
pose of  their  sophisticated  articles,  it  would  be  folly  to  expect 
them  to  give  up  their  most  honorable  traffic.  The  appointment, 
some  years  ago,  of  drug  inspectors  at  the  various  ports  of  im- 
portation, was  hailed  as  a  progress  by  all  right-minded  men,  and 
as  the  surest  means  for  preventing  our  market  from  being  overflown 
by  worthless  merchandize.  But  the  prostitution  of  this  office 
for  political  purposes  is  the  surest  way  to  counteract  the  good 
intentions  of  the  law.  In  the  following  I  propose  to  show  the 
quality  of  some  parcels  of  belladonna,  and  we  may  well  wonder 
how  it  was  possible  that  some  of  these  bales  could  have  passed 
the  examination  of  the  so-called  drug  inspector. 
A  short  description  of  the  leaves  in  question  may  precede  the 
investigation.  Belladonna  leaves  ought  to  be  gathered  during 
the  months  of  June  and  July,  while  the  plant  is  in  blossom,  and 
before  the  top  flowers  have  fully  expanded.  The  leaves  are  ar- 
ranged alternate,  usually  two  growing  from  the  same  place,  of 
which  one  remains  small ;  their  shape  is  ovate-lanceolate,  pointed, 
tapering  into  the  margined  petiole,  or  the  uppermost  sessile,  with 
the  margin  entire  ;  they  are  smooth  and  dark  green  above,  lighter 
