The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1868-04-11
The limitations Of Luxylrfes and
Their Deleleri0uy Effects.

He who does not see his coffee ground from
the bean or berry, may be almost positive that
he is drinking from year to year surrogate in
liquid form. In England, as rule, the grocers
sell only ground coffee; therefore one is not sur
prised to see in the pantries of the housekeeper,
in the windows Of the victualler or in the APP
partment Of the single mechanic, where spirit
lamp does the cooking, packages bearing inscrip,
| lions and vignettes OH handsomely prepared en-.
velopes of the article but the lord drinks chic
cory in his "Finest Mocha Coffee" as well as the
humber citizen in his "Fine java Coffee" or the
mechanic in his delicious Family Coffee" II
| the chiccOry were genuine, the damage would be
considerable, though much less than it now is
Chiccory is now prepared, to our certain knowl-
edge. OF oak bark, Of old ceffee grounds, Of fine
ly sifted coal ashes else with the sawdust fall.
ing from mahogany and walnut woods, as well
as with iron black and ground horse feathers
these are few Of the elegantly prepared articles
sold under the name of coffee"
German coffee very often consists of roasted
barley grounds, or rather malt after it has been
exhausted at the breweries. In the same form
with the coffee in England, is the sugar pur-
chased in Germany, viz, tinelynAund, but
nssy Per rae cent the 6, ar sh In
some grades of it, is falsifed d y poisonous.
The articles used are sugar of milk, starch, sand
plaster of Paris, otc An inferior article of beet
sugar is also used to impart the sweetness nee
essary to the materials used for initiating loaf
sugar, and the latter has been known to be pre-
pared of acetate of lead, sulphuric acid, old pa
per, wool, flax, and even common rags, ground
up, and impregnated with white sugar =: and thus
has elegant lump sugar been established by chem
lists more ingenious than genuine article of
food. Tho so-called "pulverized sugar. is often
iinpregnated with dried and ground mushrooms
or even ground butterflies of the miller and moth
species, and, in tact, anything white. t,
Wine is a cheering balm to the human heart
but what is wine2 The manufacture of wine
is no simple process-oh, no ! it has become an
industry with thousands of "recipes and formu.
las" In England, wines are prepared of mangel
wurzel, plums and raspberries; and rose leaves
and rain water assist in the preparation of ex.
pensive, and therefore fine Madeira"
Wine is now made in Germany, for exporta.
ton, which contains not one drop Of grape Juice.
The potato has supplanted the fruit of the vine.
The strip " or strength of the potato ID distilled,
and by the assistance Of other materials color.
consistency, and smell are impaired, to form 4
liquor rivaling the choicest vintages. Such
wine can of course have no tartaric acid in its
composition, cream Of tartar is added in quanti-
ties sufficient to produce all the flavor Of the
genuine article. This, of course, must be done
in the manufacture of clarets, other red wines,
and ohampagnes. Wines called "champagnes"
are, to our certain knowledge, prepared Of honey,
chalk, pigeon dung, and even worse materials,
and then drank by admiiiMg bon sicants, at ex-
travagant prices.
The world at large is flooded with advertise.
ments Of quack doctors, whe profess to cure any
thing and everything; and more medicine is ta-
ken into the system which is in itself pernicions
than even the proportion of adulterated articles
of diet sold by the grocer. In many cases these
so-called medicines are composed of filthy, injur-
ious ingredients, which even in health arc pois.
onous, and in sickness worse than useless. This
is particularly the case among the middle and
lower classes of Europe. who, from ignorance
and poverty, readily fall into the snare laid for
them by these INSCRIPTIONS scounarels
With all this before u.s. we are led to the re.
Election that the attention bestowed by govern.
ments to the food and health of their respective
populations are altogether in the wrong direc.
ton. Strict inquiries ore instituted and strict
penalties await the unfortunates who in weight
or measure fall below the standard established
by government. Infringement Of trade marks
on nostrums, ETC., are protected, but when did
any government think of establishing any SUPER
vision the Qaa4y Of the food sold to its sub
jects, for which they are required to pay the
price Of the genuine article, receiving poison
therefor, which destroys health and shortens life
and rapidly onriches the unprincipled manufac.
turer Chemical analyses and investigations
should be instituted in all such instances, and
the health and life Of the people should be pro-
tscted by their government-,Journal Of Chem
istry.
A clerk near Boston, or elsewhere, recently
commented in this way on Pocahontas: Said he,
n -