, 1869-08-13
AduItsratIOn of Food, Liquors and Drugs.
WHAT WE EAT AND DRINK WHEN WE ARE
WELL, AND WHAT WE "TAKE' WHEN

! WHAT WE EAT AND DhlNh WHEN WE AhE
WELL, AND WHAT WE "TAKE' WHEN
WE ARE SICK.
Is lie not little remarkable that so much
apathy should exist among the masses Of the
people on the subject of the adulteration of
food, liquors aud drugs. Nothing hes been
more clearly proved or.is more generally be-
lieved than that such adulterations are very
generally practiced.
WHAT WE EAT-INGEN1oUs AND DELLTERI-
GUS ADULTERATIoNs.
Every wel-lmformed man in the community
knows that considerable portion of the food
we eat is adulterated, aud that the same is the
case with the tea, coffee aud wine we drink
The man who possesses only moderate share
ofchemical knowledge knows at glance that
the fine green shades of certain classls of
"choice" pickles and the delicate tint Of many
favorite brands of green tea are due to the use
Of mineral poisons. In regard to the adulter.
alton of milk, no one has any doubt. At in
tervals public attention is called to the subs
ject aud considerable excitement is develop
ed. A panic among the adulterators is the
result, and tempory and partial reform en-
and things soon "become normal again"
The fraudulent dealers regain their hardi-
hood aud return to their old ways. At the
height of the last "swill-milk" commotion in
London some industrious person, with a
genius for "lacts and figures" went into an
elaborate computation, showing that the
whole number Of cows supplying milk for
London could not furnish a tablespoonful per
day to each man, woman and child Of the
population Thus far, there is reason to be,
lieve that -four is not tampered with in this
country to anything like the extent to which
it is in England. There, it has been estab-
lished-beyond doubt, slicate Of magnesia, in
the form Of soap-stone, clay aud bone dust,
have been largely used in adulterating -four.
la the United States unwholesome damaged
-four has been mixed with good, aud alum
has been used to produce that extreme white
ness in the bread which The mistaken taste
of portion of the public so fOolishly adj
mires. We know of no worse iniquity than
this in reference to -four and bread on this
side of the Atlantic, though it is quite posi-
ble that some Of our Eastern Manufacturers
and dealers have taken lessons recently Of the
English adulteratOrs. Green teas arc gener-
ally poisoned by the Chinese themselves be-
fore xportation-arsenite of copper being
extensively used for the purpose Of meta
morphosing inferior black teas into highs
priced gtseh teas Coffee is adulteraed with
chiccory, peas, beans and acoTns, all of which
are, however, more harmless than the geuu-
ine article, SO that the swindle is not a mis-
L IL 81 l1tr-
CT" which is said to be so large an ingredient
in the cheap coFaes used By the English
poor, though nauseating to the fancy, it is
not injurious.
WHAT WE DRINK-sKILLFUL ADMIXTURES.
Ninety per cent. of the port wine consum.
ed in England and this country 1--WE do not
speak of California port) contains iufusions
of dye stuff, and is strengthened with the
most villaiuous brandy, itself an entirely
bogus article. Every year immense quantiN
ties of cheap whiskey are exported from the
United States to France and come back, after
being manipulated, in the shape af high
priced French brandies Gin is adultcrated
with carbonate Of potash, acetate of lead,
grains of paradise, and extracts or compounds
called "gin favorlngs." "Bnt our whisky at
least is genuine" says the topper. Our old
rye and Bourbon are not tampered with. We
can't say how this may be. But We know
that when the internal revenue tax on
whiskey was 81 gallon there was just as
srrong motive for aduterating it as any
other liquor; and we also know that, while
that tax was in force, sales of whiskey at
81 so and 81 90 per gallon were not infre-
quent How could this be if there was no
aduteration. The " New American Ency
clopedia says: "The common whskey Of
the country is largely diluted in the dstiller-
les with water, and then to restore the
strength the lye Of ashes is added in suficien:
quantity to give the liquor the character
which is expressed by the common name by
which it is called, "rot-gut."
WHEN WE ARE SICK HOW WE ARE THRILLED
WITH.
If our health suffers from the deleterious
stuff that forms so large percentage Of what
we eat and drink, or from any other cause,
and we GO to the apOthecary's with Physi
clans prescription, the chances are that 1t is
composed of adulterated drugs. The adul'
| teTdLlou Vi Oplum Is catTleu on 40 IeSUio'
business and on an enormous scale. Sand,
aloes, gums of various kinds, stems of plants
and other foreign substances are freely mixed
with it to such an extent that the active
principle of the drug is in a great measure
lost Peruvian bark, rhubarb, SIENNA and
numerous other articles comprised in the
materia medica are in like manner subject to
adulteration. Oil of wormwoOd, "warranted
pure" has been found to contain forty per
cent. of a mixture of alcohol and chlorOform
This list Of sdulterated drugs might be all
most indefinitely extended did space permit
Thus it will be seen that, whether 10 sick
! ness or in health, we are continually taking
into our stomachs with our daily food and
drink, and even with the medicines which
We take as remedies for disease, substance: