322 
Commercial  Sponges. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharni. 
July,  1875. 
Kandaharee  asafoetida,  contain  the  opaque  gum  above  described  mixed 
with  opalescent  pieces  and  moist  yellow  particles  together  with  much 
dirt ;  from  such  packages  the  best  tears  are  removed,  and  the  remainder 
pressed  together  forms  second  sort  asafoetida.  Afghan  Hingra  is  gen- 
erally packed  in  skins,  and  the  best  sort  will  fetch  about  twelve  rupees 
per  maund  of  forty  pounds. 
The  adulteration  of  Hing  is  carried  on  in  Bombay.  It  is  simply 
mixed  with  gum  arable  by  treading  the  two  together  ;  the  mixture  is 
then  packed  up  in  skins  bO  as  to  resemble  genuine  packages.  Several 
qualities  are  prepared  containing  different  proportions  of  gum. 
Hingra  is  adulterated  in  Afghanistan  and  in  Persia  by  the  admixture 
of  some  white,  earthy  material.  7  he  adulterated  article  which  comes 
from  Persia  is  in  dirty  white  gritty  masses,  and  becomes  very  hard  when 
kept.  That  from  Afghanistan,  is  of  a  brown  color  and  in  small  round- 
ish masses,  easily  crushed  into  powder  by  pressure  ;  according  to  Bel- 
lew,  gypsum  and  flour  are  the  adulterations. 
A  substance  called  Heera  Hing  is  also  met  with  here  ;  it  is  obtained 
from  the  packages  of  Abushaheree  Hing;  many  of  these  are  quite  liquid 
in  the  centre  ;  the  people  who  buy  them  for  adulteration,  squeeze  out 
this  liquid  portion  and  retail  it  at  a  high  price  as  Heeia  Hing;  it  is  of 
the  consistence  of  treacle,  and  when  dried  becomes  solid  and  translu- 
cent. 
From  the  examination  of  a  great  many  bales  of  fresh  Hingra,  I  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Persian  variety  is  produced  by  a  differ- 
ent plant  than  the  Afghanistan.  Probably,  Scorodosma  foet'idum  will 
prove  to  be  the  source  of  the  Persian  and  Falconer's  Narthex  of  the 
Afghanistan  kind. — Pharm.  your,  and  Trans. May  29,  1875. 
COMMERCIAL  SPONGES. 
It  is  sad  to  consider  how  much  we  lose  in  every  walk  of  life  through 
lack  of  a  little  observation.  There  are  few  stonemasons  who,  like 
Hugh  Miller,  are  led  to  become  noted  geologists  by  noting  and  study- 
ing the  beautiful  fossils  in  the  stones  they  chisel.  A  butcher  may  cut 
up  beeves  and  porkers  by  the  hundreds,  or  a  fisherman  spend  a  long 
lite  on  the  shore,  without  noticing  the  most  obvious  points  of  interest 
and  instruction  in  the  physical  structure  of  his  victims  ;  and  only  when 
a  naturalist  calls  his  attention  to  the  beautiful  adaptations,  which  have 
before  passed  unnoticed,  will  have  his  interest  profoundly  excited,  which 
