Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
Aug.  1,  1873.  j 
Adulteration  of  Pepper, 
365 
lentil  flour  mixed  with  earth,  which  can  be  detected  by  the  micro- 
scope and  calcination  ;  (2)  chalk  ;  and  (3)  linseed  cake,  ground  to  a 
degree  of  fineness  comparable  to  that  of  ground  pepper.  By  the  aid 
of  a  good  glass  the  fragments  of  linseed  could  easily  be  seen.  In 
some  specimens  seized  at  the  custom-house  the  powder  of  sesame 
seeds  was  .detected ;  and  it  appeared  probable  that  in  this  case,  in 
order  to  obtain  the  proper  shade  for  the  powder,  the  adulterator,  who 
had  sent  from  Marseilles  several  hundred  bags  of  this  product,  had 
mixed  many  sorts  of  seeds. 
White  pepper,  obtained,  as  is  known,  by  the  decortication  of  black 
pepper,  is  often  adulterated  with  talc,  chalk  and  starch  in  consider- 
able proportions.  The  introduction  of  these  three  inert  matters  may 
have  for  its  Object  either  the  direct  increase  of  bulk  or  the  masking 
of  an  imperfect  decortication.  After  the  examination  of  numerous 
specimens,  M.  Bouchardat  came  to  the  conclusion  that  many  manu- 
facturers supply  two  products  :  one,  known  as  •poivre  leger,  consisting 
principally  of  the  cortical  part  of  the  pepper,  black  fragments  form- 
ing the  greater  portion  of  it ;  the  other,  known  as  poivre  blanc,  being 
mixed  with  talc  or  starch,  to  imitate  the  shade  of  white  pepper.  Al- 
though the  poivre  leger  contains  nothing  foreign  to  pepper,  yet,  as 
the  useful  part  is  eliminated,  the  sale  of  such  an  article  must  be 
looked  upon  as  a  fraud  upon  the  part  of  the  dealer.  It  is  also  some- 
times adulterated  with  ground  grains  of  paradise,  which  is  easily  de- 
tected by  means  of  a  magnifying  glass.  In  France,  to  avoid  prose- 
cution, the  wholesale  dealer  is  said  often  to  sell  the  ground  pepper 
pure  and  the  mixture  intended  for  its  adulteration  separately. 
The  usual  adulterants  of  pepper  may  be  clearly  identified  by  means 
of  a  microscopic  examination,  with  an  instrument  of  300  to  400  mag- 
nifying power,  in  the  hands  of  a  skilled  person.  The  powder  of  pep- 
per is  characterized  principally  by  its  starch.  This  appears  in  com- 
pound grains  retaining  the  form  of  the  cells  in  which  they  were  con- 
tained, and  which  they  entirely  filled.  They  are  of  variable  forms 
and  dimensions  ;  M.  Mussat  has  measured  them  from  0*030  mm.  to 
0*20  mm.  in  diameter.  The  simple  grains  of  which  they  are  formed 
are,  from  their  juxtaposition,  irregularly  rounded,  and  are  from  0*001 
mm.  to  0*0056  mm.  in  diameter.  Under  the  action  of  iodine  they 
assume  a  rather  dull  violet-blue  color.  Solution  of  caustic  potash 
attacks  them  but  slowly.  This  fecula  is  accompanied  by  the  debris 
of  the  pericarp,  which  presents  two  very  distinct  forms  of  cells.  In 
