218 REPORT ON IMPORTED ADULTERATED DRUGS. 
cinal preparations for the public service, that too much 
reliance, in their selections, must not be placed' upon what 
purports to be the name or label of some noted and foreign 
popular manufacturers, which they may find attached to 
the bottle or package. For it must be borne in mind that, 
while many of the aduUerated, fine chemicals, &c., come 
to us neatly put up in small quantities, for the retail trade, 
bearing a fictitious label, much of the very crudely and 
imperfectly manufactured chemicals I have named, together 
with considerable quantities of morphine^ is imported in 
hulk; or, in other words, in bottles or cases, containing 
several pounds each, and bearing only the name of the ar- 
ticle ; giving us no clue to the real manufacturers beyond 
what may be gathered from the name or uames of the ex- 
porters upon the invoice ; and they are not unfrequently 
foreign commission merchants. Notwithstanding this, these 
crude and impure articles, in bulk, find, I regret to say, 
ready purchasers among the unprincipled dealers, who have 
them \)wi up in small quantities, (similar to the genuine,) 
in foreign bottles, imported expressly for the purpose ; to 
which is, afterwards, attached a neatly executed imitation 
label of some well known foreign manufacturing chemist. 
The articles are then ready for market, and are purchased by 
the unsuspecting, (for circulation throughout the country,) 
1 fear, too often, on account of the label, and general exter- 
nal appearance of the bottle, without proper attention to 
the contents. Hence the reason many chemical prepara- 
tions fail to meet the reasonable expectations of the country 
practitioners, who have neither time, means nor opportunity 
of analysis. 
Whence do we derive the largest proportion of these 
adulterated and deteriorated medicines? 
Answer. The largest quantity comes from England; but 
other portions of Europe furnish more or less of these base 
compounds and worthless drugs. 
