Alexandria gazette & advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1822-1824, 1824-11-25

/ tity Of -four inspected in Baltimore de-
creased only from about $50 to AIS thou.
sanq barrels; whereas the inspection in
Alexandra decreased from considerably
upwards Of goo to lO6 ihousand barrels.
II The inspection must be raised, il should
De done gradually as the country i'm
proves and the business should al any rate
commence after productive crop But
let US admit for moment that since the
late refinement in the inspectors, Alexan>
drla Hour OF the various grades, is equal
to that OF Baltimore how comes it TO
pass that there is now the same difference
IN price that there formerly was !? The
-four, therefore, that is shipped from Al
exandTIa, either sells for no more than it
did before the inspection was raised, or If
| II DO, the Farmer is wheedled out of the
enhanced value OF his produce for the
benefit OF the -four dealers in Alexandria.
In the one case, the measure is worse
than needless, in the other. it is iniqui-
tous and fraudulent. lin either event the
loss is saddled on the farmer. Leaving
this question however altogether out of
view Tor the present, there are some ire.
gularities 10 The administration of the law
as 1t now stands, which il is my purpose
| more particular y to notice. A great part,
perhaps one fourth of all the -four carried
to Alexandra, is made out OF wheat con-
tanning a. small admixturs of garlic. No
means have as yet been devised, suffi-
ciently ethcacious TO eXtirpate this plant.
A partial distaste to the favour of garlic
| 10 flour, has caused it's existence TO be ge-
nerally considered an insuperable barrier
to good bread. Many persons, however,
DO not object to il at all. & many others do
it more through prejudice than any thing
else. When will We cease 10 "stran al
gnats and swallow camels?" After being
kept few months, the -four looses the
taste completely, and is besides possessed
OF this real advantage, it is never killed
by the mill 1t is never ground as close
and consequently is much more tively than
any -four made fron'perfecty clean wheat.
The existence Of garlic in -four is very
difficult TO ascertain, without il be baked,
so that the inspector has to guess so much
that he as often judges wrong as right
Now here comes the essence OF the story.
| When the inspector concludes that -four
contains garlic, he makes no ostensible
difference in the grade of the article-be
| does not for that reason alone "scratch out
the S"--Do, be only notifies the fact to
the -four merchant, who (God bless his
soul never fails to make the best of it, to
the manifest injury OF the grower, and to
the deception OF the consumer For after
passing the inspection, there is no mark
of LEMONS" put on the barrel 10 guide the
future purchaser-no, to him, 'al's well,
il is only an odd trick 70 the game of
King-streetsr with the innocent, the
ignorant, and much abused farmer
1t is thus made the interest of the
-four dealers, that every barrel carried to
market should be condemned as garicky,
for be receives upon every such barrel
clear profit of from 10 TO rs cents, as be
has the conscience to ask There is ano-
Their grievance, which will just mention.
The -four buyers generally, make diff
| ference of 10 cents in The barrel. between
-four made beyond and that made this side
of the Ridge. For whose benefit is this ?
Now can readily conceive that -four may
occasionally be made OF such superior
quality as to command a small extra price
| from connoisseurs oil the palate, living in
the place, but to the foreign consumer
there can be no such distinction-to him,
il matters not whether it were made at
this mill or that--in Jerco or Guinea-- the
brand on the head Of the barrel importing
its quality, is bis only guide. If the in.
spection answer not the purpose for which
it was in ended, it bad better be abolished.
1t could, however with judicious regula-
tons, be made eminently subservient TO
the convenience and interest of the great
mass of society. The proper and com.
petent authority, hope, will not long de.
lay to take this matter into serious con-
| sideration,
A FAUQUIER FARMER.