556 
ADULTERATION  OF  ANNATTO. 
heard  that  there  is  a  saying  in  some  parts  of  England,  that 
"  annatto  now-a-days  won't  dye."  I  don't  wonder  at  it,  if  the 
sample  before  me  is  anything  like  a  fair  sample  of  what  is 
usually  supplied  to  the  trade.  We  are  told  "  annatto  is  obtained 
from  the  seeds  of  Bixa  Orellana  ;  is  imported  into  Europe  in 
cakes  and  usually  made  up  in  England  into  rolls  before  sale ;" 
we  are  further  told  that  "  the  best  annatto  is  known  as  roll 
annatto."  This  sample,  when  received  about  two  years  ago,  was 
labelled  "  roil  annatto,"  and  seemed  what  its  name  implied,  good, 
of  a  beautiful  deep  orange  color,  and  pliable,  something  like  a 
well  beaten  pill-mass.  In  my  unsuspicious  ignorance  I  thought 
it  of  first-rate  quality.  A  short  time  after,  on  having  occasion 
to  sell  some,  I  found  it  studded  with  minute  crystals  of  salt,  but, 
being  busy,  paid  no  attention  to  them,  till  some  time  afterwards 
I  found  that  the  crystals  had  largely  increased  in  size  and  num- 
ber. I  supposed  the  salt  had  been  added  to  help  keep  it  moist, 
or  it  might  be  to  increase  weight  and  profit.  I  thought,  however, 
that  this  was  at  least  a  safe  if  not  a  necessary  adulteration.  As 
time  went  on  my  beautiful  annatto  began  to  lose  its  rich  color 
and  softness,  becoming  shrunk,  hard  and  mottled,  like  a  piece  of 
brick  made  of  badly  cleaned  clay.  Being  now  thoroughly  con- 
vinced of  the  roguery  of  some  one,  I  was  desirous  of  knowing 
to  what  extent  and  how  it  had  been  adulterated.  I  weighed  out 
a  hundred  grains  from  a  thin  section  of  one  of  the  rolls,  digested 
it  for  twenty -four  hours  in  two  or  three  ounces  of  spirits  of  wine, 
boiled  the  residue  in  two  ounces  more,  then  put  it  into  a  perco- 
lator, passed  spirit  through  it  till  it  came  off  colorless,  finishing 
off  with  ether,  which  also  came  through  colorless,  thus  making 
sure  of  having  thoroughly  exhausted  it  of  the  "  orelline  ;"  on 
drying  and  weighing  the  residue  I  found  it  to  be  about  85  grains, 
a  pretty  fair  percentage.  On  boiling  a  small  portion  in  water, 
cooling,  and  testing  with  iodine,  it  gave  the  blue  starch  reaction 
very  strongly.  Under  the  microscope  it  looks  like  what  is  sold 
for  "lintseed  meal,"  mixed  with  minute  portions  of  an  emerald 
green  substance. 
These  results  are  not  before  the  meeting  with  that  exactitude 
I  should  have  liked,  but  they  are  sufficient  to  show  that  roll 
annatto,  as  supplied  to  the  trade,  instead  of  being  the  best 
