30 
ADULTERATION  OF  FOOD  AND  DRUGS. 
Dr.  Hassall,  who  got  the  credit  of  being  the  chief  of  the  "  Com- 
mission," professed  extraordinary  accuracy  in  determining  ad- 
mixtures of  organic  matter  with  the  microscope,  whilst  Dr. 
Normandy  took  charge  of  the  chemical  essays.  According  to 
the  Pharmaceutical  Journal,  both  of  these  gentlemen  appear  to 
have  been  carried  away  with  the  idea  that  pure  food  and  drugs 
were  exceptions,  and  that  adulteration  was  the  rule,  and  that 
many  of  the  statements  published,  give  impressions  to  the  public 
mind  very  far  from  the  truth.  "  Dr.  Hassall  deserves  credit  for 
the  industry  and  perseverance  with  which  he  has  pursued  his 
experiments  on  adulterations.  His  weak  point,  however,  is  the 
endeavor  to  prove  too  much,  and  the  habit  in  highly-colored 
statements  ad  captandum  vulgus.  The  impression  of  any  im- 
partial person,  on  reading  Dr.  Hassall's  evidence,  would  be,  that 
the  only  place  in  which  genuine  medicines  can  be  obtained,  is 
Apothecaries'  Hall."  As  there  are  two  sides  to  every  question, 
so  of  this,  and  in  the  voluminous  published  evidence,  the  state- 
ments of  Hassall,  Normandy,  and  others,  are  much  modified  by 
that  of  sound  practical  men,  who  turn  the  focus  of  their  inquiries 
on  the  market  in  general,  and  not  in  insolated  instances  of  fraud. 
With  these  preliminary  remarks,  we  will  proceed  to  extract  some 
items  from  the  pages  of  the  published  evidence. — Ed.  Am. 
Journ.  Pharm. 
"  Dr.  Hassal  stated  that  he  had  paid  great  attention  to  the  sub- 
ject, and  was  of  opinion  that  adulteration  prevailed  in  nearly  all 
articles,  whether  food,  drink,  or  drugs.  There  were  few  excep- 
tions. The  majority  of  these  adulterations  consisted  of  the 
addition  of  articles  of  greatly  inferior  value,  for  the  purpose  of 
imparting  taste,  pungency,  or  smell.  He  proposed  to  treat  the 
subject  under  three  heads :  first,  as  regarded  the  extent  of  the 
practice ;  secondly,  the  sanitary  bearings  of  the  question  ;  and, 
thirdly,  to  show  the  importance  of  the  microscope  for  discovering 
the  adulterations,  and  suggesting  such  remedies  as  occurred  to 
him.  He  would  proceed  to  read  to  the  Committee  a  list,  first, 
of  the  various  substances  ascertained  by  himself  to  be  employed 
in  adulteration  ;  secondly,  a  list  of  articles  ascertained  by  others 
to  be  so  employed;  and  then  a  list  of  other  substances  supposed 
to  be  used,  but  of  which  no  positive  evidence  had  been  obtained. 
Among  the  various  articles  to  be  enumerated  under  the  first  head 
was  anatto,  which  was  adulterated  with  chalk,  wheat  flour,  rye 
