462  Elm  Bark,  Flaxseed  and  Mustard.  {^pfSib^iw?- 
be  recently  prepared,  free  from  unpleasant  or  rancid  odor.  When  extracted 
with  carbon  disulphide,  it  should  yield  not  less  than  25  per  cent,  of  fixed  oil. 
The  filtered  infusion  of  ground  linseed,  prepared  with  boiling  water  and 
allowed  to  cool,  has  an  insipid,  mucilaginous  taste,  and  should  not  be  colored 
blue  by  iodine  T.  S.  (absence  of  starch).—  U.  S.  P. 
In  this  connection,  as  no  exception  has  been  made  to  the  state- 
ment concerning  the  proportion  of  oil,  that  substance  is  herein 
neglected. 
As  regards  the  starch,  the  statement  has  been  made  that  imma- 
ture flaxseed  contains  that  substance,  a  point  that  I  have  had  no 
opportunity  to  verify.  With  a  view  to  establishing  the  fact  as  to 
whether  commercial  flaxseed  contains  starch,  a  number  of  samples 
of  selected  flaxseed  were  tested.  In  no  case  could  starch  be 
found. 
Upon  testing  the  ground  flaxseed  of  the  market,  however,  it  was 
found  that  every  specimen  examined  responded  to  the  starch  test, 
some  contained  starch  in  very  large  amounts,  and  it  was  not  without 
surprise  that  the  fact  was  shown  that  the  ground  flaxseed  sold  to 
my  own  establishment  had  been  grossly  adulterated  and  contained 
at  least  20  per  cent,  of  starch.  Neither  was  it  less  of  a  surprise  to 
find  that  flaxseed  ground  by  responsible  parties  and  offered  as  pure, 
and  believed  by  them  to  be  pure,  gave  a  decided  blue  coloration, 
and  would  not  conform  to  the  demands  of  the  Ohio  Pure  Food  and 
Drug  Commissioner.  Upon  investigation  it  was  found  that  flaxseed 
is  often  mixed  with  such  cereals  as  rye  and  wheat,  and  that  grow- 
ing fields  of  flax  are  often  largely  contaminated  with  volunteer 
cereals.  In  addition,  the  seed  is  often  put  into  meal  and  flour  sacks 
and  becomes  impure  thereby.  The  farmer  does  not,  cannot,  separ- 
ate these  foreign  seeds,  the  oil  miller  cares  little,  if  at  all,  for  the 
contamination,  and  hence,  since  linseed  oil  makers  are  the  parties 
who  produce  the  ground  flaxseed  of  commerce,  and  grind  for  mar- 
ket the  quality  of  seed  they  press  for  oil,  it  is  readily  seen  that  com- 
mercial ground  flaxseed  cannot  be  expected  to  withstand  a  searching 
starch  test.  Of  course,  these  remarks  do  not  apply  to  mixtures 
designed  intentionally  as  adulterations.  That  flaxseed  can  be 
cleaned  in  quantities  is,  however,  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  whole- 
sale seed  stores  in  Cincinnati  I  have  succeeded  in  picking  up  flax- 
seed free  from  starch-bearing  contaminations. 
It  is  my  opinion  that  if  a  universal  demand  arises  for  pure  flax- 
