The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1859-11-10

Soioreu confectionery, adulterated will
emerald or schiiles green, arsenite of copper
Beer, with coculus indica and nux vo.
mica.
| Pickles and Bottled Fruits, with verdi
girls and sulphate of copper.
Custard Powders, with cromate of lead
Tea and snuff, the same.
Cayenne and Curry Powder, with red
oxide of lead.
Sugar Confectionery, with gamboge, op-
intent, or orsurphuret Of arsenic, and cL lorile
of copper.
Flour and Bread, with hydrated suIphale
of lime, plaster Of Paris and alum.
Vinegar, with sulpuric acid. Sugar,
with sand and Plaster of Paris.
Milk, with chalk, Sleeps brains, ground
tumeric.
Chocolate, with rice, flour, potato starch,
g"ri' tragacanth, cinnabar, balls, Peru, red
OK, mercury, red lead, carbt, of lime, and
the red oclres to bring up the color.
Mustard, with ground tumeric, to give
1t brilliant color.
Butter, with potato starch, mutton tallow,
carbt. lead and sugar of lead
Iaploca, it appears, is often nothing
bnt potato starch. An article was exlib;.
ted; which had been brought into the mar
ket as yeast powder, bu: it had to be with.
drawn, because it destroyed the tin cans
IN which it w,s sold. The stomachs Which
received 1t must have Jared well. Dr.Ja,k.
son, OF Bosten, testified that spices and
blisterng flies are, in one place, ground
in the same mill.
A long catalogue of drugs is furnished,
which has this year been taken from shors.
and which are aduIteradcd in every con-
celvable way. Five different methods of
treating the Para Balsam Copaiva arc emu,
'ner"te'. Cream Of Tartar, which is SO
largely used, both as a medicine and an
ingredient of food, is favorite article for
adnlteration. The report says:
"Cream of Tartar is adullerated with
tartrate Of lime, chalk, finely powdered
white marble, suIphale Of lime, sand, nitrate
OF po,assa, alum, sulphate Of soda and
potassa, cloride of potassium. 1t has
been found to contain, as impurities, iron,
copper; lead ahd arsenic.
"Ihe addition of starch, arrow root and
otlier amylaceous substances, are well
known, and the specimen under exauina-
ton is only remarkable from the fact that
it contains 63,33 per cen. of farnaccous
substances as adulteration. This was sold
| us pure cream tartar"
The opium whicl, is offered for sale
often contains IA large per cen.are of bis
cult or of gum tragacanth. East India rhu-
barb, worth ninety cents pound, is grouLd
up and sold for -" true Turkey" at 81 SO IL
| pound.
We have not the space to follow the
report further in detail. But the public
may well be greatful that the pharmaceu-
lists themselves have taken the matter in
hand. They alone can successfully detect
these frauds. The loss Of the money, out
Of which the public are cheated, is of itself
a very serious affair. But it is as nothing
compared with the danger to which the
shameless adulteration of medicines ex-
pose human life. Physicians should aid
in the attempt to put down the abomi-
nabe practices which have been exposed
in this report. We trust that the conven-
tion will not content themselves with this
expose, but will suggest the means which
appear to them most likely to guard them
aud all Of US against tile imposi,ions which
have so long been in vogue.-Prov. Jout-
nal.