THE ANALYST. 651 NOTES OF THE MONTH. The Chemist and Druggist has, we must admit, got some good ground of complaint' in the fact that in the quarterly reports of some analjsts such expressions are found as that '' two samples of drugs were found entirely wanting of their principal ingredients '! ; '' five samples, three adulterated " ; and so on, while no prosecution has followed to test the correctoess of thesc statements.We decidedly agree that were the analysts the prosecutors no articles should appear as adulterated in the quarterly reports unless the352 THE ANALYST. cases had been fully taken before the court. Our contemporary, however, should remember that it sometimes happens that, for occult reasons only known to themselves, a local authority will not institute a prosecution even when the article is found bad.In such a case the analyst has no option, and he cannot withdraw the mention of the case from his quarterly report. Setting aside disputed questions of nomenclature and recognised strengths, the only real cases of absolute admixture of drugs that eyer came under our notice were one of a sample of powdered jalap containing linseed flour and one of sulphate of quinine containing more than 90 per cent.of the other cinchona alkaloids. The former article was, it turned out, purchased not by a chemist but at a small oil shop, and notwithstanding the certificate the authorities declined to prosecute on the ground that the oilman, not understanding drugs, knew no better! Doubtless the case after- wmda appeared in the quarterly report, but what could the analyst do t o prevent i t ? The latter case certainly should have been made the ground of prosecution.This appears just one of the points to be considered in any amendment of the Act, and the Chmist and Drzlggist does well to record it, only do not let the blame be thrown on the analysts personally for what they cannot help.I f the Government would give the pharmacists an absolute monopoly of the sale of all drugs-a monopoly to which as men of education they are now as much entitled as their German compeers, and in return insist that nothing should be sold except in accordance with a definitely recognised scale of purity, &.-it would put an end t o much trouble and misconception. On the other hand some authorities will rush blindfold into prosecution on matters which never ought to be taken into court.An analyst is often snubbed when he makes the remark on his certificate that such and such a result does not give a good ground for proceedings, and is told plainly to mind his own business and leave them to judge. The result is that such really trivial cases as the recent slight deficiency in the alcoholic etrength of a mmple of tincture of jalap are brought into court.Our view is that in such a difficulty the analyst might address a letter to the inspector, saying that if asked his opinion on oath he would state that he did not consider the deficiency of any real importance. If then the prosecution was brought the analyst could publicly wash his hands of the whole affair.The only difficulty would be when his re-election came on. And if any Board could be found to object t o such a letter, we say-let them. An interesting case at Guildford, in which the question oE whether a label on Epps’ cocoa declaring it to be a mixture, was a sufficient declaration without the vendor actually calling the attention of the purchaser to it, was unfortunately nipped in the bud by it being found that the analyst’s certificate of the analysis performed at Bouthampton waa wrongly dated, Such errors would be avoided if an analyst would always make a practice of filling in the heading of his certificate together with the weight of the article while the inspector was actually present.The thing must be done anyway, and to enter into another book and write all the certificates after the analyses have been made saves no time and giveis room for error when there are several inspectors at work.THE ANALYST.353 The Dairyman, naturally indignant that the publicans should have tried to get a little side wind of favour in the matter of watering their goods, makes the following amusing but perfectly true remarks :- “ It is, however, coming it a little too strong, for these publicans, who it would seem are anxious to compel their customers to be water drinkers to a certain extent, to attempt to get the Act so altered that they onZy shall adulterate with impunity, while all other traders, forsooth, are to be subjected to the pains and penaltier deuervedlp attaching to dishonesty of the description named.The mere fact of these gentle- men desiring to get such a clause interpolated in the Act, plainly indicates that they have a misgiving as to the legality if not morality of supplying gin and water when gin only is asked for, and it is satisfactory to know that they are still in the same uncertain frame of mind, as the BiII, in which the ill-advised amend- ment was embodied, has been withdrawn, and the Act of 1875 remains in statu QUO.” And yet, strange to say, the Local Government Board appears to have consented to act as foeter father to the publicans’ clause.We are sure that this cannot have been done with auch careful consideration as Mr. Sclater-Booth bestowed on the original Bill itself. The Local Government Board is still bestirring itself re analysts’ appointments, and the Plymouth Town Council has received a gentle hint that it is its duty to protect the interests of its fellow-townsmen by forthwith appointing a public analyst.After such dictation to that august body we fear that the individual appointed wiU not exactly lie on a bed of roses. The silly season in the papers has lately had a new feature besides the time- honoured gigantic turnip.Popular science nowadays is everything, and 80 we have 8 Mr. J. B. Wateon writing to the Times as follows :- ‘‘ Be the fees of the analytical chemist are beyond the means of many, a few simple teat papers might be prepared and used for many purposes. Certain cards should be prepared and hung in closets, which, by changing colour, would immediately betray the presence of sewage-gas in the atmospbere.Other papers might be prepared for testing the purity of water or tea, or other articles of daily consumption. The paper for testing water would immediately, should lead be present, betray ite existence ; the papers for testing tea would betray the presence of copper and so forth. The papers might be prepared in packeo and labelled, These test papere would be very inexpensive, and could be used by the most inexperienced with confidence.” 80 far 60 good, but why not at once start a company to supply the public with papers dipped in the true elixir vitw, so that simply chewing one every day would make it a matter of indifference what they ate altogether. Perhaps Mr.Watson would object that the real article is as yet unknown, but then is not the same thing true of his ‘‘ simple test papere 3 ” Until he gives us his formula we fear the “ simplicity ” would be all on the eide of the purchasers.But even this grand idea is not original, because it appeared eomewhere in the silly season last year. When we noticed in the Times that Messrs. Wanklyn and Cooper had read a paper on “ Elementary organic analysis by a moist process,” we experienced quite an eager desire to peruse so important a discovery; but alas ! how our spirits fell when we read that it was only an extension of the old limited oxidation to cane sugar, for it seems that the other experiments were made before they ‘‘ discovered the secret how to get the oxidation complete,” ‘‘ Small beginnings make great endings,” so now that the hidden myatery of (‘ evaporation to dryness ” is made manifest, we shdll look forward with absorbing interest to the next paper.354 THE ANALYST, It is requested that when medical men prescribe orange-flower water they should put the word concentrated if they want it pure as imported, for it has leaked out at the Conference that some chcmists critically examine the prescription! and if they in their wisdom deem that it is added only as a flavouring and not as a sedative they supply it diluted with water one in three.Sailors hare a decided objection to ( 1 three water grog,” but this wonderful article actually improves by dilution ; besides what do patients know about it, and then-look at the extra profit ! One of our contemporaries suggests that licensed victuallers ( I should imitate the example of dairymen, and apply their trade society funds to prosecute adulterating members of their trade rather than t o defending them against the consequences of their equivocal practices.” This would be more like the common honesty which trade societies should possess, RECENT CHEMICAL PATENTS.The following specifications have been published during the past month, and can be obtained from the Great Seal Office, Cursitor Street, Chancery Lane, London. 1818. Name of Patentee. NO. 174 A. E. Healey ... 244 J. Livesey and J. Kidd 301 W. M. Brown ... 317 L. Peroni . . . . . . 372 F. L. H. Danohell 448 J. Lee . . . . . . 449 J. H. Johnson ... 456 J. Johnson . . . . . . 498 J.Wadsworth ... 500 J. Hollomy ... 511 11. Baggeley ... 619 A. S. L. Leonhardt 622 W.Young . . . . . . 581 R. Punshon ... 630 A. M. Clark ... 646 E. Field . . . . . . 647 E. Field . . . . . . 682 A. Fryer . . . . . . 714 A. M. Clark ... 729 W. P. milson .. 771 E. P. Alexander ... 786 J. H. Johnson ... 1324 C. D. Abel . . . . . . ... ... ... ... .I. ... ... ... ... ..I ... ...... ... ... ... I.. ... ... ... ... .I. ..I Title of Patent. Prke. ... Treatment of Paper and Woven Fabrics . . . . . . . . . 6d. ... Production of Combustible Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . 6d. ... Evaporation of Cane Juice . . . . . . . . . . . . 6d. ... Construction of glass Tubes for Thermometers . . . . . . 6d. ... Refining and Decolourizing Oils Spirits and Syrups ... 4d. ... Manufacture of Gas from Wood Peat, &c.. . . . . . 2d. ... Treating Sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6d. ... Manufacture of Dextrine and Glucose . . . . . . . . . 2d. ... Apparatus for Evaporating and Drying Sewage . . . . . . 6d. ... Sulphur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4d~. ... Treatment of Sewage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4d. . ,. Recovering Arsenic from the Residue of Magenta Colours 6d, ...Manufacture of Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8d. ... Treatment of Sewage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2d. ... Dyeingand Printing with Derivatives of Aniline ... 4d; ... Treating Fatty and Oily Matters . . . . . . . . . 6d. ... Saccharification of Amylaceoiis Matter . . . . . . . . . 4d. ... Treating the Refuse of Towns . . . . . . . . . . . . 6d. ... Manufacture of Sulphate of Alumina . . . . . . . . . 4d. ... Manufacture of Loaf Sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . Bd. ... Decolorizing Solid and Liquid Matters . . . . . . . . . 2d. ... Purification of Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8d, ,.. Production of Colouring Matters for Dyeing and Printing 4d. BOOKS, &c., RECEIVED. The Chemist and Druggist; The Brewers’ Guardian; The British hledical Journal; The Medical Examiner ; The Medical Times and Gazette; The Pharmaceutical Journal; The Sanitary Record; The hledical Record ; The hliller ; The Anti-Adulteration Review ; Jcurnal of Applied Science; The Boston Journal of Chemistry; The Dairyman; The American Dairyman; The Practitioner; 0. Jones, 011 Violet Powder.