The National Register.
London, England, 1819-10-10 00:00:00

I.IIITAiIUA' TE.4.

The regular establishments for the manufactory of
intuition tea-leaves arrested, not long ago, the attentian
of the public ; and the parties, by whom these manu-
factories were conducted, together with numerous vend-
ers of the fictitious tea, did not escape the hand id...jus-
tice. The fraud of manufacturing sloe and white thorn
leaves Minim imitation of tea, which hat beets drank
by the public as the genuine bet entre of tea, is compa-
ratively harmless,-when compared with the fraud lately
detected, of titanufacierihg real genuine unsaleable tea-
dust, into tea, by means of a process which renders the
article absolutely deleterious to !width. In proof of this
catement, we give the following facts:
A poor woman, having purchased an ounce of green
tea, was struck by the lively blue colour, which the be-
verage made of it assumed, an pouring into it a tea-
spoonful of spirits of hartshorn. This person (a char-
w ttttt an) being in the habit of frequently partaking of
tea in other houses, where sire went to-work and being
constantly in the habit of adding a tea-spoonful of harts-
horn to 11. e tea-beverage, without having obsessed that
singular appearance, which her own tea-leases produ-
ced, made a complaint to the grocer, front whose shop
the tea was purchased. This person, unconscious of
any deleterious admixture, having paid a fair price for
his tea, took a sample of the suspected tes.leaves to Mr.
Aceunti.the Chemist, who analysed it, and pronounced
•it to contain copper. So unexpected a result induced
the vendor of the poisonous tea- eaves, whose whole
support depended on the reputation of a fair tradesman,
to enquire into the fraud • committed upon him. lie
consulted sowe.of his friends, who received their tea
from the same -quarter, aixl it became evident that the
diatolical deceptions practised in this br inch of com-
merce were much. greaser than was expected.
The poisonous tea had all the appearance of the leaves
of genuine Ilyson; but it was noticed by the chemist,
who examined the suspected samples, that a portion of
the leaves, wheti infused in boiling water, became
speedily resolved into a lime powder, and that pan of
dits -*lone remained in an entire state, so es to make it
possible to recognize the vegetable structure ; and this
led to the opinion, that the tuasuifacturer of the poison-
oue commodity had employed the Just of Hysois tea (the
sale of which forms a regular business with many tea-
brokers) and moulded it, probably by means of a small
quantity of mucilage, into a compound, pos:essing in
every respect tie external characters of ge 11111 l le Ilyson
tea. Pus fraud may, therefore, be detected, by merely
throwing the sophisticated tea leases into warm water,
which instantly causes them to fall into a litie powder,
which speedily Fettles to the bottom of the vessel. The
infusion, when mingled with liquid ammonia, affords a
might blueish green colour, indicating the presence of
copper. But the presence of this metal may be snore
strikingly rendered obvious, by mixing two parts of time
suspected tea leaves with one of the nitrate of potash.
(-ialtpetie), and throwing the illumine lino a crucible
kept red hot in a cuunuom tire. The %%bole ante vege-
table matter of the tea will thus become destroyed, and
the copper remain behind, its c bination unit the
alkali of ins saltpetre. If water, therehite, lie rowed
into the crucible to dissolve the 11140.9, the IlfebtlWe of
°optics will be imminent es tibly muttered obvious, by the
admixture of liquid ammonia, which imparts to .the
distil a beautiful sapphire blue colons.
Ur. Accuut, in his treat, rmarls that the toper

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331

employed for colouring tea is in a state of carbonate, a•id
not as verdigris, 'which he states totally inapplicable for
its Cauthilent purpose of giiing a bloom to the u
leaves. We •iced nut remind our readers, that all pre•
pilfll.loll7 of Capper are deadly poison.

FROM TUESDAY NiallT'S G.IZETTE.
BANKRUPTCY ENLARGED.

W. Hyde, llowfirrd Buildings, Fenehurch Street, merchant,
from Oct. 2 to Oct. 16.
BANKRUPTS.
T. Harding, junior, Ilvlston, Cornwall. grocer. Solicitors
l‘lessrs. Price, Williams. and White, Lincoln's inn.
J. Gaulton, Nlilhome St. Andrew's, Dorset, victualler. Sul.
Mr. Pearson, Middle Temple.
W. Watts, 31anchester, calico print seller. Sols.
Clarke, Richards, and Nledeall, Chancery Lane.
M. Middlehtirst, Wigan, Lancashire, shopkeeper. Sol. Mr.
Ellis, Chancery Lane.
Cuming, Hoehampton, carpenter. Sols. Messrs. Lutdey
and Son, Copthall Court.
W. Metcalf, Cranbourn Street, Leicester Fields, 'lnca draper.
Sol. Mr. Jones, Six Lane.