The whole of it was composed of amorphous pieces, possessing externally a similar appearance. Upon breaking them, however, a manifest difference was observable. Some of the pieces possessed the resinous fracture, and the other characteristics of virgin scammony, while the remainder, which constituted about five eighths of the whole, exposed a dull, non-resinous surface when freshly broken.
I selected two samples, each possessing in the highest degree the characteristics of the two varieties, and subjected them to the action of sulphuric ether with the following results, designating the resinous or best No. 1, and the other specimen No. 2:—
| No. 1. | No. 2. | |
|---|---|---|
| Specific gravity | 1,143 | 1,3935 |
| Per cent. | Per cent. | |
| Resinous matter and water | 94.35 | 49.86 |
| Vegetable substance insoluble in ether | 3.20 | 45.16 |
| Inorganic matter | 2.45 | 4.98 |
| 100.00 | 100.00 |
{8}
The vegetable substance in No. 2 was principally, if not entirely, farinaceous or starchy matter, of which the other contained not a trace. The result shows that this parcel of scammony was composed partly of true virgin scammony mixed with that of an inferior quality; and also indicates the necessity of examining the whole of every parcel, and of not trusting to the favorable result of the examination of a mere sample.
The powder in the two specimens was very similar in shade, and they possessed in about the same degree the odor peculiar to the substance, showing the fallacy of relying upon this as a means of judging of the comparative goodness of different samples. This fact may appear anomalous, but on different occasions the powder of No. 2 was selected as having the most decided scammony odor.
Since examining the above, I have had an opportunity of experimenting upon a portion of scammony imported from Trieste as the true Aleppo scammony, of which there are exported from Aleppo not more than from two hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds annually.
The parcel consisted of a sample of one pound only, which was obtained from a druggist of respectability in that place by one of my partners, who was assured that the sample in question was from the above source, and the kind above alluded to. This scammony was in somewhat flattish pieces, covered externally with a thin coating of chalk in which it had been rolled, the structure was uniformly compact, the color of the fracture greenish, and it possessed in a high degree the caseous odor.
The fracture was unusually sensitive to the action of moisture. By merely breathing upon a freshly exposed surface, a film resembling the bloom upon fruit was at once perceived. Its specific gravity was 1,209, which, it will be observed, approximates with unusual accuracy to that given by Pereira as the specific gravity of true scammony, viz. 1,210. It contained—
| Resinous matter and water | 89.53 per cent. |
| Vegetable substance insoluble in ether | 7.55 per cent. |
| Inorganic matter | 2.92 per cent. |