240  Crude  and  Pozvdered  Drugs.  {^'Ma^iST™* 
have  been  offered  and,  although  rejected  by  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  some  of  them  have  afterward  found  their  way  into 
commerce. 
Genuine  soap  bark  is  apparently  becoming  scarce,  and  several 
sorts,  apparently  different,  though  closely  similar,  are  coming  for- 
ward. No  one  knows  anything  about  their  identity  or  value.  They 
may  be  superior  to  the  original.  There  is  great  need  of  an  investi- 
gation of  this  subject. 
In  the  second  class  just  considered,  not  only  is  the  American 
dealer,  and  most  if  not  all  other  parties  concerned,  freed  from  the 
direct  charge  of  wrong  intent,  but  the  possibility  of  error  is  so  great 
that  he  may  be  freed  from  all  except  technical  responsibility,  in 
most  cases. 
In  the  third  class,  now  to  be  considered,  there  are  also  strong 
possibilities  of  genuine  error  on  the  part  either  of  the  collector  or 
the  dealer,  but  yet  the  latter  can  claim  no  just  freedom  from  respon- 
sibility. His  error  must  have  resulted  from  gross  incompetence  or 
gross  carelessness,  since  means  for  detection  are  ample  and  con- 
venient and  such  detection  is  specifically  called  for.  There  is,  more- 
over, good  reason  to  believe  that  in  most  of  the  cases  such  dealers 
have  had  a  guilty  knowledge  of  the  facts. 
The  presence  of  henbane  in  stramonium  and  stramonium  in 
henbane  represents  fraud  on  the  part  of  the  collectors.  By  dealers 
too  careless  to  properly  examine  the  drug  carefully,  this  fraud 
might  easily  be  overlooked. 
During  the  past  year,  shipments  of  winter  savory  and  of 
Origanum  onites  have  both  been  offered  as  "  thyme."  They  have 
the  same  odor  and  flavor,  and  probably. the  same  composition  and 
properties  as  thyme,  but  the  substitution  is  improper  and  is  easily 
enough  detected  by  one  who  is  interested.  The  last  named  plant 
has  also  been  imported  as  marjoram. 
Several  different  species  of  Marrubium  are  imported  as  hore- 
hound. 
Dealers  sometimes  overlook  the  fact  that  tansy  is  defined  as  the 
leaves  and  tops,  and  offer  the  whole  of  the  plant,  entire  or  chopped 
up,  an  article  that  should  be  used  only  for  distillation. 
The  year  has  seen  an  importation  of  Japanese  aconite  under  the 
name  "  aconite." 
Mylabris  has  once  been  imported  as  cantharis.  All  that  was 
necessary  was  to  relabel  the  article,  in  order  to  secure  its  admission. 
