The Sun.
London, England, 1840-11-11 00:00:00

ADULTERATION OF DRUGS.

The following are some of the curious reasons urged
by a druggist, in a letter to Mr. Warburton, M.P., on
the utility of extending the provisions of his Bill to
chemists and druggists, and on the necessity of extin-
guishing quackery by Act of Parliament. It would
appear from this writer that almost every necessary of
life, and every species of medicine, are adulterated to
an enormous extent. " Many drugs," he says, " arc
imported in an adulterated, damaged, and unuseable
state ; some are also damaged on the ♦oyage by sea-
water, and, by leakage and admixture of other
things, but they all find a ready sale in the
market ; for, in the drug trade especially, every.
thing is turned to some purpose or other. Strange as it
appears, our paternal Government, as if determined to
promote the wishes of the dishonest and rapacious, offer,
or did offer, a bounty in the way of a remission of duty
(called abatement) on damaged drugs! The sales for
drugs generally take place every fortnight, the goods
being open for inspection a day or two previously. In
the catalogues of these sales you find oftentimes here
and there a quarter or a half, sometimes a whole column,
devoted to the lotting of bad articles ; some described
as damaged, others as sea damaged, &c., the list gene-
rally ending with sweepings ! And all this takes place
without the slightest attempt at concealment ; so far
the fact is open to the knowledge of all the world ; and
it is found, that, partly from the abatement of duty,
and partly from the low price at which they are sold,
the damaged goods sell much quicker than the sound.

In sending drugs to be ground at the drug mills, the
worst are not perhaps on all occasions selected, but it is
often the case that they are. As to horse powders, a pro-
portion of seven, fourteen, or twenty-eight pounds of i,he
genuine drug to the hundred weight, is considered suffi-
cient, the remainder being old bean meal, damaged flour,
or guiacum dust, furnished by the drug-grinder, and co-
loured to the requisite tint. The smaller and damaged
jalap is ground, and at times from ten to forty per cent.
of guiacum dust or barley meal added ; the latter article
serves also to adulterate nuz vomica, hellebore, and other
powders, mixed in various proportions. The Russia is
adulterated with India rhubarb in the state of powder ;
and the India, which is worth eight or ten shillings the
pound, is frequently mixed in various proportions, from
ten to eighty per cent., with English rhubarb, of four-
pence or sixpence the pound. Senna stalks are ground
instead of the leaves fur Alexandria senna, a portion of
the East Indian kind being added, or colour. Colocynth
seeds, which are nearly inert, are added to the fruit, for
the purpose of cheapening the powder for sale. The
inferior kinds of myrrh, although generally adulterated
when imported, often receive in addition, when sent to
be ground,
small gum arabic of a lighter colour, to im-
prove the colour of the powder.
The genuine West India cayenne pepper is now
made in London, and, if it contained nothing but the
ground berry of the piper indica, selected of a good
colour, we could desire no better. But coloured s L w-
dust, salt, vermilion, and other ingredients are added.
Peruvian bark of the finer kinds is rarely ground into
powder ; generally the coarse and small are selected be-
cause they will not sell so well, and it is generally the
case also, that bark rhich has but little taste is to be met
with in the market, all of which in an extraordinary
quick time disappears ; a great part of this is ground
into powder, and sold at inferior prices. This article
confessedly is kept in a state of powder, like rhubarb,
jalap, senna, gum arabic, gum tragacanth, myrrh, aloes,
and other articles of different qualities, to suit the wants
and tne prices of all classes of buyers. Squills are adul-
terated with starch-powder to make the powder of a
lighter colour. Ipecacuanha is adulterated in the same
way. Gum arabic powder is frequently to be found
mixed with starch and arrow-root ; and India gum is
generally sold for Turkey in this state, although the
fraud is easily detected. Gum arabic is added to gum
tragacanth to whiten the powder. Ginger is often adul-
terated with flour and meal, flavoured with capsicums
to give it the requisite warmth.
Mustard seed to the amount of one-sixth only, and in
many kinds not nearly so much as that, enters into the
composition of the best Durham mustard, which is Dur-
ham only in name ; the rest being composition of some
kind, coloured with turmeric, and spiced with capsicums.

Snuffs are notoriously adultered with sal ammoniac,
pearl ashes, orris powder, dried peat, and other things.
Black pepper is mixed with starch powder and English
arrow-root, to make white pepper ; alum powder with
salt, and cream of tartar with alum powder. Coffee is
mixed with the burnt root of the dandelion, known as
chicory, which, from Wing ground at the drug mills, is
itself liable to adulteration. But we are civilly told
this is the French mode, and of course the coffee is
much improved by its admixture. Chocolate and cocoa
arc mixed with ground sago, often itself unfit for sale in
any other state. The subject of culinary adulterations,
however, it is not my intention to pursue here ; although
it is a part of that " present state of things" which no-
thing but a thoroughly organized system of medical po-
lice can effectually put down.