ERRATUM.

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NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY. OCTOBER, 1852.

UNITED STATES CUSTOMS.

NEW YORK, September 25, 1852.

MR. GEORGE D. COGGESHALL.

Dear Sir,—Your kind and courteous favor of the 16th instant, on behalf of the Publishing Committee of the New York Journal of Pharmacy, asking “information respecting the character of imported drugs and medicines coming under my supervision; and also, information in reference to the general working and effect of the drug law of 1848,” has been before me for several days, waiting such response, in the shape of a full and lengthy communication in detail, as it was my wish to furnish; but pressing and increasing official duties compel me, from want of time (not material), to forego that pleasure and confine myself to a brief statement of facts and data, which, together with some general observations, I am in hopes may, nevertheless, be found interesting to your readers.

As an evidence of the beneficial effects of the wise sanitary measure, in the success of which, we have all taken so much interest, I am pleased to say that the character and quality of the more important articles of drugs, medicines and chemical preparations, connected with medicine at present presented for entry from abroad, is greatly improved, and of a far higher standard of strength and purity than formerly; not­with­stand­ing, as will be seen, I still have occasion to apply the “veto power”—a labor of love, which must, of necessity, be {290} performed in order to arrest the unhallowed strides of deception and fraud which will ever be practised, to a greater or less extent, as long as we have those among us, engaged in any department of the drug trade, who, to put money in their purse, would endanger, if not sacrifice the lives of their fellow men. The law in question has now been in operation at this port something more than four years; and, with the exception of some eleven months, the duties and re­spon­si­bi­li­ties of its ad­min­i­stra­tion have devolved upon me. On the 21st day of April, 1849, I made a report to the New York Academy of Medicine, on the practical operation of this law, and stated therein the more important articles of drugs and medicines, with the quantities annexed, rejected by me up to that date; but as that report is doubtless familiar to most of your readers, I have not deemed it necessary to repeat them here. The following are the more important articles, with the quantities annexed, that I have since rejected and condemned as not of the requisite strength and purity to be safely and properly used for medicinal purposes, viz:—

Senna,31,838lbs.
Jalap root,37,121lbs.
Rhubarb root,5,782lbs.
Sarsaparilla,65,374lbs.
Mezereon bark,1,353lbs.
Opium,3,164lbs.
Kino,230lbs.
Scammony,1,483lbs.
Aloes,12,375lbs.
Squills,1,626lbs.
Spurious Peruvian bark,304,135lbs.
Spanish Saffron,360lbs.
Ergot,475lbs.
Chamomile flowers,1,896lbs.
Assafœtida,3,700lbs.
Worm seed,230lbs.
Colchicum seed,2,246lbs.
Valerian root,650lbs.
Guaiacum,9,300lbs.
Cream of Tartar,7,673lbs.
Magnesia (carb.),2,867lbs.
Magnesia (calc’d.),1,560lbs.
Althea root,1,117lbs.
Liquorice root,9,430lbs.
Bistort root,140lbs.
Gentian root,7,572lbs.
Gentian root, in powder,430lbs.
Lavender flowers,3,042lbs.
Poppy flowers,190lbs.
Hellebore root (white),460lbs.
Pareira Brava root,730lbs.
Cantharides,1,276lbs.
Creosote,140ozs.
Bromine,430ozs.
Sulphate of Quinine,3,200ozs.
Iodine,6,864ozs.
Hydriodate of Potass,3,720ozs.