Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-10-18
DOCTORED DRUGS.
Alterations and SubstitutiOns by Some
Dishonest Chemists,
CITRATE OF MAGNEsIA MADE FROM EPSON SALTS
SODA WATER SlRUPS PROM FUsu OIL AND
CITRIC ACID--AN oCULIsT's EXPERIENCE.

You ask me to tell you some Of the adul-
terations and substitutions that are made BY
some dishonest and INSCRIPTIONS druggists, :"
said Mr.. Malcomson. a retired pharmacist YES
terday, "and might, Yankee like, ask you to
tell me some that they don't make There is
nothing within the range of human knowledge
in the way OF drugs that can not be adul-
terated, and there is scarcely q drug that
has not a substitute that will defy any,
thing but practical eye or the test of chemi-
cal ANALYSIS. Under the present system Of carry
ing on the business there is nothing like a fair
competition, The fact is that chemical science
has taken such mighty strides that the art Of
substituting is now as familiar to certain grades
OF druggists as the simplest formulas In the
books. These, hope and believe, are few and
far between, and yet there are enough Of
them to injure the trade and the repu-
tatlon OF honest dealers, and to perplex
and worry the physicians. Among a
certain class of people, not the very poor es-
pecially, there is rage for cheapness, Of which
the charlatans of the drug trade have not been
slow to take advantage. With these people to
be well served is to be cheaply served. and they
go home chuckling to themselves when they
have saved penny or two. never thinking that
perhaps their search after economy would re-
suit eventually in loss both of money and
business, man would come intomy Office and
ask: What would you fill this bottle with laud-
anum fOr?' "Seventy-five cents" I would an
swer. "Oh, can get it filled for thirty-five
cents" l never argued the point but let him
get his laudanum as cheaply as he could All I
knew was that could not sell 1t for that price
Probably he got 1t of less than half strength.
STORES TO AVOID.
my experience Of drug stores leads me to
believe that those which are always selling out
and changing hands had better be avoided The
odds are THAT their stocks are never complete
and that their ability to fill even ordinary pre-
scriptions is far below par You remember Saw
yer, late NocemOrf, in the Pckwick papers, don't
YOU and the rows OF empty drawers with their
gilt labels? Well, there are some of that sort,
have no doubt, in this city. Young men, fresh
from the schools of pharmacy want to start in life
for themselves, and most generally begin on
capital ludicrously disproportioned to their
wants. drugstore is not like grocery. 1t
needs finer and more elaborate fittings, and thus
by the time the young man has made his shop
presentable, his money is SO nearly exhausted
that he can buy little or no stock, Then his
temptations begin. He is dealing mostly with
Ignorant people, and seeing how easily he can
impose upon them, he does it persistently, and
soon becomes an adept in adulteration and sub
stitution Meanwhile, the honest druggist in the
same neighborhood suffers. To put up good
drugs he must charge good prices. But he
III.
Tor somehow the people sooner or later discover
that he sells what they call for. Then the am
otlous, but cheap. young druggist puts up his
shutters and decamps.
COMMON ADULTERATIONs
"Once in a while one feels like taking bottle
Of citrate of magnesia, and it is good thing IL
one buys it at, the right place. But it is not
pleasant to know that some Of the druggists
make 1t out of epson salts which can be bought
q m nj ba
one. They dissolve the salts in water add
little citric acid to give the necessary sour TASTE
and throw in the bicarbonate Of potassium to
produce efferyescence. There you are! a prime
article OF citrate of magnesia; and will venture
TO say That this decOctiOn is daily palmed off on
the public by men who would disdain to pick
your pocket. l don't know that there is any
tremendous profit in this preparation, for most
OF those who use it get it from druggists of
established reputation; but am certain that it
Is quite extensively made.
SALTWATER sIRUPs.
"One OF the cOmmonest and most profitable
OF the tricks practiced by the druggists is the
Vanilla you will generally find pretty pure,
for it is hard to initiate. and raspberry straw
berry, pineapple and lemon are also generally
pure, although citric acid makes very good
imitation OF lemon sirup. Ginger is also genu-
Inc, possibly because it is cheaper to use the
root than to initiate ;es peculiar pungency.
Orgeat and nectar are two Of the most popular
slrups, and yet it is safe to say that in the
majority OF instances they are made not from
the kernel OF the bitter and sweet almond, as
they should be, but from the oil of almond,
which contains considerable infusion of prus-
sic or hydrocyanic acid. l dc not say that these
sirups are highly injuriOus-in fact do not
think they are-I only mention them to show
the ease with which f1avors are initiated.
pineapple; banana. pear apple, strawberry
do
from the artificial fruit essence which is COM
posed OF combination of fusil OIL suphuric
acid and acetate of potash BY varying his
proportions, the clever manipulation produces
the sirup he requires, and so skilful has he be-
come that he can, at will, give his strip the
haVor OF the BergamOt or JargOnelle pear, the
sweet taste of the strawberry, or the slight and
peculiar acid of the pineapple There is, in fact,
no end to his ingenuity.
AN OCULIsTs EXPERIENCE.
"Digftalis, made from the foxglove,' said an
oculist, lis used as heart sedative. but instead
ce making it by infusion of the leaves
of the plant, in which the full power and
freshness Of the remedy are preserved. some
druggists make it from the extract. This is
sometimes. however. the fault of the patient.
who dslikes to wait for the hour or more
that the making of the infusion requires
resin of the May APPLE, which is used as
cathartic as we'll as liver stimulant /
always write for an eighth of a grain If I
know that the patient patronizes a first
class druggist. IT. on the other hand, know
that he gets his drugs from a druggist who is
not. strictly AL double the amount. The
powder of podOphyllin is less expensive than
the resin, and not SO effective, and is often sub
stituted for it. Chlorine water, which is largely
used, should have strong odOr, but it is often
served without any odOr at all. 1t should
always be fresh, and am careful in prescribing
1t to know who the druggist is who puts it up
More than once have prescribed boracc acid as
an astringent, but have found it to expand the
pupil like atropia. I do not know what was
substituted for it in these cases. believe MANY
druggists look upon borax as good sn bstitute
DR.. Oscar H. Allis said he had no doubt that
there YVES some substitution and adulteration of
drugs among dealers in certain portions Of the
city, especially in those where the people were
forced by poverty to consult economy In his
practice however, he had never CHANGED to
meet with any such cases. This he attributed to
the fact that he had no squeamishness with re-
gard to advising his patients as to the proper
place at which to have their prescriptions filed.
He never recommended any special druggist
but always made it a point to see that the pa
tient went to responsible and Trustworthy
dealer He though that the exposurea hoonn