MISCELLANEOUS FOOD PRODUCTS.

Under this head is placed a variety of subjects. Of the 82 samples examined, 72 were good and 10 were bad, equivalent to a percentage of adulteration of 12.1 per cent.

DRUGS.

During the year 598 samples of drugs have been collected and analyzed. Of this number 296 have been pure and 302, or 50.9 per cent., have been adulterated. During 1906 the percentage of adulteration was 62.5 per cent. A slight increase in percentage of purity is noted, but conditions have not improved along the line of drugs as satisfactorily as with food products. The reason for the low grade of drugs is difficult to explain. The wholesale drug trade in Indiana is in the hands of reliable, conscientious, successful merchants. The retail druggists are, as a rule, men of high standing in the community. The wholesale trade has taken many precautions since the passage of the Pure Food Law to eliminate from their stock all goods not of U. S. P. strength, or goods improperly labeled, and we believe the retailer has, so far as he has been able, taken from his stock every preparation the character of which he did not know. In order to determine, if possible, why drugs are so heavily adulterated, in so far as an explanation from the retailer will show, we sent to 404 dealers warning notices describing the character of goods purchased from their stock that were found to be illegal, and asked them to explain these results. Of the warning

notices sent out we have received 312 replies. An examination of these replies reveals some very interesting conditions. Thirty-eight retailers gave an explanation for the composition of their lime water; 17 of them acknowledged carelessness in manufacture or storage, and nine stated that they used lime water tablets. Ninetynine dealers whose tincture of iodine was found to be below standard attributed that fact to improper storage or to careless manufacture, improper solution, etc. Nineteen dealers used old formulas which did not call for the addition of potassium iodide. In two cases the clerk's error was evidently responsible for the results. Fifty-nine druggists explained the fact that their tincture of iron was below standard by stating that they purchased a solution of chloride of iron from the wholesaler and diluted according to formula. Ten admitted careless manufacture or storage and 7 the use of an old formula. Nine could give no explanation; one was made by the former owner of the store; 16 blamed the wholesaler for crude drugs or fluid extract; one said it was the fault of his clerk, and one was made from old stock. It is impossible to draw any conclusion from the analyses as to the quality of the solution chloride of iron handled by the wholesaler. Their formula calls for dilution, and if the retailer follows directions, goods so diluted should be up to standard. Thirty-six replies from Tr. of Capsicum show five to have been made from an old formula; 3 could give no explanation; 3 admitted carelessness in preparation or dispensing; 2 were made by former owners of stores; 17 laid it to the door of the wholesaler in furnishing drugs that were not right; one said it was the fault of his clerk; 3 were made from old stock, one used maceration instead of percolation, and one said the alcohol had evaporated. Carelessness in preparing was the cause for one sample of Tr. of Ginger being below standard; one was the fault of the wholesaler in selling impure drugs; one was made. from old stock, and one was made from ginger root. In the case of Spirits of Camphor, two used old formulas. Ten could not explain; one said it was carelessness in preparing or dispensing, and one was made by a former owner; two said it was the wholesaler who was to blame; one was the fault of a clerk; one suggested that the camphor gum might have contained paraffin;, one said it was caused by faulty calculation; two said formula was incorrect, and two laid it to their scales. Sixteen retailers explained the illegal sale of black antimony by saying that they bought the goods from the wholesaler and supposed the goods to be pure. One retailer stated that he paid 12 cents a pound for a preparation, which, upon

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analysis, proved to be coal dust; this is at the rate of $144 a ton, a rather expensive price for slack coal. Forty-five dealers reporting as to the quality of their precipitated sulphur, in every case stated that they purchased pure goods from the wholesaler. It is apparent that the trade in black antimony and in precipitated sulphur is entirely demoralized. There is no reason why either one of these articles should be furnished a retailer in other than a pure state. The fact that the preparations are used in veterinary practice or in ointments has no bearing on the case at issue. Carelessness in manufacture and the storage of preparations such as lime water, tincture of iodine and tincture of iron in loosely stoppered bottles seems to be the most reasonable explanation for failure on the part of the retailer to comply with the law. The use of old formulas and pharmacopoeias of an edition abandoned twenty years ago also explains many results that seem impossible to the druggist who uses every care in compounding his preparations. In only three instances does the retailer lay the quality of his goods to the clerk's error, and in no case did the dealer admit wilful illegal sale. The conclusion to be drawn from this brief summary of facts is that the retail drug trade should observe more care in the preparation of its goods, discard old formulas, buy pharmacopoeias of the latest edition and insist upon guarantees of purity from the wholesaler with whom it deals. The purchaser of drugs, whether he be physician or layman, can take cognizance of none of these explanations. He expect to obtain pure and standard goods, and it must be the duty of the retailer to dispense to him what he requires and pays for.

Inspectors report sanitary conditions of drug stores to be on the whole satisfactory. Occasionally proprietors are found who do not realize as they should the necessity for cleanliness, especially around the soda fountains. Many fountains have been inspected which were in a dirty and unsanitary condition. One inspector reports 50 draft tubes to be stopped up with accumulated dirt and sediment; another that a dead rat was found in the base of the fountain. A drug store is, from the very character of the business, an attractive place. Clean floors, polished counters, shining mirrors, neatly arranged rows of shelf bottles are found in every modern drug store. The prescription case, usually out of sight of the customer, is not so carefully cared for in many instances, nor is the stock room or cellar always properly kept. Of 892 drug stores inspected during the year, not a single one was found to be in bad condition. Twenty-nine were found to be uncleanly and therefore classed as poor; 270 were in fair shape; 521 were good and 72

were in excellent condition. Second inspections show a decided improvement, and at the end of another year's work, it is probable that there will be no further necessity for sanitary inspections of drug stores. The stocks of patent and proprietary articles are changing complexion rapidly under the influence of the new Federal requirements, and appear in a guise so strange and new as hardly to be recognized. Stocks of goods on hand at the present time do not require any statement on the label as to the alcohol, opium, cocaine and morphine content until March 1, 1908. It is advisable, however, that all druggists take steps at once to dispose of these old stocks, so that when the drug law goes into full effect, it will not be necessary for the department to condemn quantities. of unsold goods.

Fifty-seven samples of lime water were analyzed during the year. Of this number 29 were of U. S. P. strength and 38 were below standard. This is equivalent to a percentage of adulteration of 56.7 per cent. One year ago the percentage of adulteration was 45.1 per cent. These figures indicate a more serious condition at the present time with the Pure Food and Drug Law in active operation, than before it went into effect. There is absolutely no excuse for this condition, and no druggist should escape the responsibility placed upon him by the law, when he prepares and dispenses a medicine of very little cost, which is to be used in treating infantile disorders, that does not conform to the strictest pharmacopoeial requirements. Many druggists are disposed to ignore or treat lightly the fact that they are dispensing an impure lime water. Others, realizing the seriousness of their fault, have said that it was impossible to buy a lime that would make a standard water, and that the pharmacopoeial requirements were too stringent. In order to determine the truth of this assertion, 7 samples of lime, purchased from the lime yards at the city of Indianapolis, were used in preparing lime water. The results are given in the table below.

LIME WATER (LIQUOR CALCIS), PREPARED FROM LIME COLLECTED FROM INDIANAPOLIS COMPANIES.