ON SOME SPURIOUS SORTS OP OPIUM. 
293 
to me. under the title of a " secondary sort (beisorte)" which 
immediately roused my suspicions. It had very likely been 
kept with opium, for it had at first the smell of this sub- 
stance, which it had afterwards lost. 
Another adulteration, under the name of " Egyptian 
opium" I saw in London, where I examined, under the 
denomination of " unrated goods," a box with cakes of 
catechu, which was there imported and consumed as Egyp- 
tian opium. 
The Egyptian opium has, as is well known, a brown, 
bright, glistening colour, and by fracture presents here and 
there lighter, orange-coloured, clouded spots. The opium 
which I saw, and which I immediately recognised as a pro- 
duct, quite similar to Bengal catechu, by the bitterish and 
afterwards sweetish taste, resembled this opium perfectly 
both externally and internally.* 
I must also mention another opium-like artificial product 
which I received in London through the kindness of Dr. 
Babington, from Calcutta, under the name of " Dikki 
Maleifrom the Malabar Coast of India." Martins men- 
tions something similar to this, when speaking of the Smyrna 
opium, but quite different from what I have received : this 
consists, namely, of rather equally formed opium-like cakes 
of two inches square, 3' to 4' thick, hard and dark, with 
spots on the surface, shining like gum ; when rubbed they 
develope distinctly a smell of sealing-wax (perhaps arising 
from the mentioned tichi oil?) the fracture was like that of 
guaiacum, greenish yellow, and resinous, with brownish 
catechu-like spots (from the betel nut ?). It is of a very 
peculiar astringent taste, sticking to the teeth, and leaving 
behind, when chewed, an orange-yellow powder, which 
* An experiment with the mixed sulphates of iron produced the 
well-known greenish discolourization, and when treated with an excess 
of sulphuric acid, gelatine, and emetic tartar, which cause no per- 
ceptible reaction 3 the tannin was discovered. 
26* 
