532 
THE  ADULTERATION  OF  SAFFRON. 
Chiratin  is  a  pale  yellow,  very  hygroscopic  powder,  at  the 
utmost  capable  only  of  a  granular  crystallization ;  it  is  very 
bitter,  sparingly  soluble  in  cold  water,  rather  more  in  hot  water, 
readily  soluble  in  alcohol  or  ether.  It  is  neutral  to  test-paper, 
does  not  reduce  alkaline  solution  of  copper,  and  gives  with  tan- 
nic acid  a  copious  white  flocculent  precipitate  ;  formula  C^^^^fi^. 
By  the  action  of  acids  chiratin  is  separated  into  ophelic  acid  and 
a  yellowish-brown  amorphous  substance  that  is  not  sugar,  but 
tastes  bitter,  is  scarcely  soluble  in  water,  readily  soluble  in 
spirit,  does  not  reduce  copper  solution.  Hohn  assigns  to  it  the 
formula  CggHg^Og,  and  the  name  Chiratogenin. 
The  herb  itself  gave  the  same  results  as  the  stem  and  roots. — 
PTiarm.  Journ.^  Lond.,  Aug.  6,  1870. 
THE  ADULTERATION  OF  SAFFRON. 
By  Daniel  Hanbury. 
Saffron  is,  at  the  present  time,  the  subject  of  a  serious  adul- 
teration, to  which  I  think  it  important  to  call  attention,  the  more 
so  as  I  find  that  its  nature  and  extent  are  not  fully  known  even 
to  experienced  druggists.  Saffron  adulterated  in  the  manner  I 
am  about  to  describe,  is,  for  the  most  part,  undistinguishahle  to 
the  eye  from  the  drug  in  a  state  of  purity,  yet  the  means  of  dis- 
criminating between  the  genuine  and  the  fraudulent  are  of  the 
most  simple  character. 
Let  me  remark  at  the  outset  that  there  is,  in  my  opinion,  no 
method  of  testing  saffron  more  effectual  than  that  of  scattering 
a  very  small  pinch  on  the  surface  of  a  glass  of  warm  water.  The 
stigma  of  the  saffron-crocus  immediately  expands,  and  exhibits 
a  form  so  characteristic,  that  it  cannot  be  confounded  with  the 
florets  of  safflower,  marigold  or  arnica,  or  with  the  stamens  of 
crocus  itself. 
It  was  in  performing  this  simple  operation  that  I  detected  that 
some  saffron  which  I  had  just  purchased  had  been  treated  with 
a  heavy  earthy  powder,  which  speedily  separated  from  the  lighter 
stigmata,  and  fell  to  the  bottom  of  the  glass.  Upon  collecting  and 
examining  this  powder  I  found  it  to  be  carbonate  of  lime,  which, 
by  some  ingenious  process  of  which  I  am  ignorant,  had  been 
