Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1871-03-23

Adulterati0n Of Articles In General
Use.
IT Is certainly within the memory of
most of us, says the american Exchange
and Reuieso, when plain white cotton goods
consisted alone of the fiber of the plant
which gives them their name When we
bought such in those times, they were not
as now, perhaps, dressed to the extent
of more than q quarter of their weight
with foreign matters, among which fine
white clay holds so prominent place.
Our wall papers were then considered |
heavy enough, and our writing and print |
ing papers had sufficient body without |
such noticeable dressings of kaolin, and |
the products of the workings of clay de-
posts were turned into their legitimate
application for the production of porce-
lain and white stone ware. Preferring to
grind our own coffee, the cup was drank
without the after thought that chicory and
dandelion-root, and rye were essential ell
ements in its composition. If sand were
found in the sugar, it was regarded as an
adventitious matter, and we did not then
hear of it, and of terrified starch, as prom
inent ingredients.
Frequency of handling, and necessity
of preparatory manipulattons, would ap-
pear, now, to be universally accompanied
by sophistication. Additional price for
labor performed and material consumed,
affords insufficient margin for profit, and
lower priced substances, with allied ply
sical, if not chemical properties, and gen.
orally with distinct applications and uses,
are deemed necessary to increase OF profit.
Thus, while the rags from which paper is
made are comparatively expensive,
the carefully prepared and al
most perfectly white clay sells
to the paper manufacturer for not more
than one and half cents by the pound,
and is worth, in money, at least, greatly
more than this in stock. The old Dutch
method of white lead manufacture, while
it produces by far the best of paints, is in
expensive, in so far as time is concerned,
aud barytes, worth possibly two cents
pound, will wonderfully increase profit, If
it does not improve the quality of the
paint but this last is the consumers con-
Germ. The white lead leaves the manufac
tory possibly in pure state, but frequent
manipulatiOns are necessary before it is a
paint, and the opportunities for adultera-
ton are too numerous and too propitious
for it to escape falsification. Hence, the
pigment reaches us laden with foreign
matters, not only in the basis itself, but in
the oil, turpentine and other materials
which are required for its preparation.
The substance called barytes is one of
the most common of falsifers. 1t is an
abundant mineral, which, after grinding
and elutriation. requires nothing but treat
ment with weak or diluted acids to render
it perfectly white powder of great den
sity and of considerable body. But, not
withstanding these advantages, it is not a
paint in the strict acceptation of,the word,
though its extensive employment might
lead to such supposition. We find it en-
tering into the composition of other COM
mercial articles. Much of the cochineal
used in the arts is simply this sulphate of
baryta rolled in the moistened dye stuff
till it constitutes half of the weight of the
fictitious coloring matter.
There is an allied substance, gypsum
which is even more abundantly distributed
than the barytes, and this has become, on
account of its lower price, of much i'm
portance in adulteration. 1t has beer
found in starch to the extent of nearly
one-fifth of the weight of the amylaceous
compound. The amount of it that may be
added to artificial fertilizers, without de
lection by ordinary means, is only limited
by the conscience of the manufacturer
and this limit can hardly be regarded as
safe one in the face of what chemica
analysis points out. A purple dye material
called litmus, should be, according tt
Webster's Dictionary, obtained from
ichen, the archil, and from an euphor
bious plant, common in the south of Eu
rope" but is, commercially, small cubes o
gypsum, stained or impregnated with tn
coloring matter OF these plants. Indig'
itself does not escape sophistication by tn
same substance.
Dye stuffs seem to be favorites on whicl
to exercise skill in adulteration. In com
mercial madder, we find any or all of saw
dust, almond husks, bran, pine bark, acaci
wood, speut madder, sand, clay, brick dust
and ocher. Cochineal should be the drie,
carcasses of the c0ccus cdcti, but usual
consists of the same intermixed with whit
lead, barytes, soapstone, fragments of me
tallic lead, and with the spent dye. Prus
sian blue contains artificial ultramarin
(now prepared at a cost of not more tina
fifteen cents per pound); chrome yello,
holds fully seventy-five per cent of il
weight of barytes anotta has red ochel
powdered bricks, colcothar, chalk, Cyl
sum, turmeric, and farinaceous substance
whilst the turmeric itself is extensiyel
falsified.
But these are matters which affect I
but little when compared to articles O
food and diet These, it might be though
would escape Justification, since const
quences much more serious and alarmin
might be the result of their adulteratiol
But we find very few articles of food, n
quiring previous artificial preparation, t
be without sophistication. Alum, su
phate of copper and sulphate of lime hay
been found in bread, in addition to tt
possibilities of Justification in the origin,
flour. Milk has been suspected to CO..
tain an undue amount of water, and hi
been found at times with dextrine, starcl
sleeps and calves brains, chalk and ma
nesia entering into its composition. Blu
ter may contain water, -four and earth
substances Tea is adulterated with Pru
sian blue, indigo, gypsum, chromate
lead, and copper compounds, and is som
times made up entirely oftea dust, grour
rice and gum. Coffee is not always Il
dried herb of the Cofea Ara6ica, wha
ever tbs popular belief may be, but is fir
quently made up of chicory, roasted cor
acOrns, and leguminous seeds Chocola
was formerly regarded as preparation
the Iaeobr0naa c0cdo, but that was in Il
days of LlnpRus, who justly regarded
infusion as "the nectar of the Gods" no
1t is largely composed of starch and am
idCeouS substances, IRON, Ocher, and Oth
mineral matters. Cayenne pepper b
been known to contain red lead, and
frequently found with colored sawdust
component. Mustard is falsif'
by the addition of wheat flour color
with turmeric, and the mixture is render
sufficiently hot by the addition of T
pepper. Salt, it may safely be assertt
escapes adulteration, but not so with viz
gar, which, as is well known, not unf
quently contains oil of vitriol, and then
verify there is death hidden in the cru
Olive oil is made from lard, or else
adulterated with poppy oil, and the rant
substance is sometimes treated with Ii
arge, for the purpose of making it swe
leaving variable amounts of lead co
pounds in the article for table use.
investigation of the various pickles a
proprietary sauces would hardly be c,
ductive to the peace of mind of one
voted tn their I1se whi1af tho sUpatmo