506 
PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 
The  hour  having  arrived  for  the  farther  reading  of  papers  and 
examination  of  specimens,  Edward  Parrish  read  an  able  paper 
on  "Pharmacy  as  a  business,"  which  was  directed  to  be  published. 
On  motion,  Dr.  Aiken,  Prof,  of  Chemistry,  in  the  University 
of  Maryland,  and  Examiner  of  Drugs,  of  the  Port  of  Baltimore, 
who  was  present,  was  invited  to  give  to  the  Association,  such 
information  as  he  may  possess  relative  to  the  inspection  of  drugs, 
which  was  acceded  to  in  the  following  communication  : — 
"  Having  been  honored  with  an  invitation  to  attend  the  present  Meeting 
of  the  Pharmaceutical  Association,  accompanied  with  an  intimation  that  it 
would  be  interesting  to  the  members  to  learn  something  of  the  operation  of 
the  law  regulating  the  examination  of  drugs,  as  applied  at  this  Port,  I 
have  accordingly  prepared  a  brief  memorandum,  giving  the  character  and 
amount  of  the  articles  rejected  during  my  term  of  service,  with  the  total 
weight  of  all  articles  of  the  same  classes  imported  ;  and  lastly,  the  aggre- 
gate of  all  drugs  and  medicines  introduced  during  the  same  time,  showing 
the  relative  proportion  between  what  has  been  admitted  and  what  has  been 
rejected.  From  May,  1853,  to  the  present  time,  some  three  years  and  four 
months,  I  have  had  occasion  to  reject  40,876  lbs.  of  various  medicinal  arti- 
cles ;  some  directly  adulterated;  some  deficient  in  active  principles,  the  re- 
sult of  want  of  judgment  in  collecting  and  preparing;  some  injured  by 
age  and  exposure  ;  and  some  by  moisture  and  rough  handling  in  transit. 
The  aggregate  amount  will  hardly  seem  large  if  we  take  into  account  the 
long  period  required  to  accumulate  it.  The  annual  average,  contrasted  with 
the  whole  drug  business  of  our  port,  will  furnish  most  favorable  evidence 
of  the  character  of  our  drug  market.  Within*  the  period  named,  760,000  lbs. 
of  Peruvian  bark  have  been  brought  here,  principally  from  Callao  and 
Arica,  some  little  from  Valparaiso,  and  generally  of  very  superior  quality. 
I  have  been  obliged  to  reject  only  38,062  lbs.,  and  it  is  but  justice  to  our 
importers  to  add,  that  every  pound  of  rejected  bark  has  been  the  property 
of  merchants  in  other  places,  who  found  it  convenient  to  order  their  goods 
through  Baltimore.  Within  the  same  period  205,410  lbs.  of  various  roots 
and  seeds  have  been  imported,  of  which  only  367  lbs.  have  been  rejected,  and 
this  has  been  made  up  principally  of  ipecacuanha,  from  Rio,  and  sarsa- 
parilla  from  the  West  Indies,  injured  by  exposure  to  the  water.  Of  herbs 
and  flowers,  29,890  lbs.  have  been  offered,  and  only  465  lbs.,  principally 
German  chamomile,  found  unfit  for  use,  and  that  from  age.  The  volatile 
oils  have  been  found  adulterated  to  a  much  greater  extent.  Out  of  3,736  lbs. 
imported,  1,928  lbs.,  more  than  one-half,  was  rejected  as  deviating  too  far 
from  the  requirements  of  the  law.  The  oils  rejected  were  principally  oil 
of  lemon  and  oil  of  juniper,  both  apparently  adulterated  with  oil  of  turpen- 
tine. Oil  of  absinth  was  found  diluted  with  alcohol,  and  oil  of  fennel  seed 
with  turpentine.    If  to  the  articles  named  we  add  50  lbs.  of  creasote,  in- 
