7  6  Adulteration  of  Potassium  Iodide.  {Am>Je0bU^87h9!rm, 
wide,  and  half  an  inch  thick.  The  lever  is  slightly  countersunk  at 
the  point  where  it  touches  the  head  of  the  compressing  rod  to  admit  of 
lateral  motion. 
The  second  figure  presents  a  transverse  section  through  the  cylinder. 
"  A  "  is  the  hole  admitting  the  cylinder,  between  the  upper  and  lower 
segments  of  which  a  pill  is  shown  at  u  B."  "  C  "  is  the  outlet  tube 
emerging  at  "  D."  The  action  of  the  apparatus  is  apparent.  The  pill 
having  been  compressed,  the  lever  is  raised  sufficiently  to  permit  the 
removal  of  the  lower  segment  of  the  cylinder,  when  a  slight  pressure  of 
the  lever  will  force  the  pill  from  the  tube  and  it  will  emerge  at  "  D  "  in  a 
perfect  condition. 
Philadelphia,  January,  1879. 
ADULTERATION  OF  POTASSIUM  IODIDE. 
By  C.  E.  DePuy,  Ph.  G. 
Not  long  since  a  sample  of  potassium  iodide  bearing  the  label  of  a 
western  manufacturer  came  under  my  notice,  which  from  its  appear- 
ance I  suspected  was  adulterated. 
Its  crystals  were  not  of  the  form  so  characteristic  of  a  pure  drug,  but 
on  the  contrary  were  of  an  irregular  formation,  traversed  in  all  direc- 
tions by  deep  fissures  which  enabled  them  to  be  easily  broken  with  the 
fingers,  while  its  odor  was  strong  and  offensive. 
To  more  fully  determine  its  real  character,  I  applied  tests,  with  the 
following  results  : 
Alcohol  of  the  sp.  gr.  835  dissolved  but  about  50  per  cent,  of  the 
salt. 
With  tartaric  acid  and  starch  no  change  took  place  until  several 
hours  after,  when  a  brownish  precipitate  was  deposited. 
With  starch,  black  oxide  of  manganese  and  sulphuric  acid  cautiously 
added  at  first  produced  a  blueish  tinge,  which  soon  changed  to  a  dark 
brown  color. 
With  chlorine  water  and  starch  a  similar  reaction  occurred. 
With  nitrate  of  silver  a  copious  yellowish  white  precipitate  was 
obtained.  This  precipitate,  when  treated  first  with  nitric  acid  and  then 
with  ammonia,  was  placed  upon  a  filter,  and  to  the  filtrate  was  added 
nitric  acid  in  excess,  by  which  means  a  very  small  white  precipitate 
was  obtained. 
By  the  addition  of  a  solution  containing  two  parts  of  ferrous  sulphate 
to  one  of  cupric  sulphate,  a  dirty  white  . precipitate  was  the  result. 
