Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1855-06-01

The Journal of Commerce complains that the STAN
dard of inspection of -four in that city has far
coded that the brand is not decisive in regard to its
quality, and that the value of the inspection is now
confined chiefly TO the determining of the relative
quality of the particular invoice. We quote
"We hazard nothing in saying that much of the
State -four now branded supeIfne, No l. would
not have been called good fine middngs, five years
ago. Once, standard superfne State Western
flour article fit for family consumption, now,
even the low grades of extras not sufficiently
good for respectable family. 1t is not that taste
is more fastdious, but because the standard has
deerorated. This is easily from the fact that
-four received from Baltimore, and graded there as
below Superne, will pass here for standard and -four
shipped hence to Baltimore some time since with the
brand of snperfine upon it, was all condemned in
that market. New York is in the humiliating
position of having the lowest standard for -four in
the world. This port, which is the grand emporium
of commerce for the American Continent, and ought
TO give laws in commercial matters to all the other
ports and markets in the country, has standard of
flour inspection which is deseIvedy ridiculed by all
of her merchants having anything to do with the
flour trade.
1.-The evils growing out of this are too obvious to
need recapitlation here There is one, however,
which is particularly annoying to conscientious mer-
chants An order is received from Liverpool for S.
900 hbls standard State flour, be executed within
a certain limit. The Commission Merchant receiv-
ing the order, if judge of the article, knows that
the trash offering Standard and which is the best
that could be bought at the price to which the order
is limited, is not such -four his correspondent
needs, although it is classed such by the Inspector
and, therefore, he will not send it, rival, who has
a less nice sense of order buys by the Inspectors
brand and thus defrauds his correspondent, while he
obtains the reputation of being more able merchant
The receivers of -four, many of them, know that the
brand placed upon their flour frequently misrepre-
sents the quality, but they excuse themselves by de-
nying their obligation TO conform to higher stand
ard than is used by their neighbors There is, how
seem to imply The old millers who have OBJ
tanned a high reputation for, particular brands
some OF them still adhere TO their original stand
ard, and keep up the quality of their brand
These exceptions make the grades OF flour exceeding
" Irregular while it gives opportunity for the
scrupulous and designing fleece the poor and gno
rant. large part of the inspection of -four is nov
merely boring and pugging the examination being
evidently farce. This applies not only TO quality
but to weight also, and very few invoices of hou
will now hold out 1876 pounds exclusive of the bar
rel Between false brands of quality, and false tare
disappearing the weight of the barrel, the buye
of -four must be very shrewd not to be cheated. Th
great scarcity of flour at the seaboard, with the big
price it has commanded during the past year, ha
greatly accelerated the depreciation in the standard
while it has led to all sorts of impOsitOns upon tn
public Some -four branded Extra and sold as suct
for family consumption, has been very little bette
than the grades formerly sold for feed AS eX
treme illustration of this looseness of inspection W
, may mention an instance which occurred within
few days, where an inspector was called to examln
an invoice of -four, and happening on the wrong sid
of the DOCK bored ana plugged, and branded super
, fine, lot Of-oatmeal !"