National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-08-20
THE ADULTERATToE OF FOOD.
DIR. vERDrs CLASSICAL KNOWLEDGE
A LEARNED EXPOUNDER FAILS TIC

DIR. VERDrS CLASSICAL KNOWLEDGE
A LEARNED EXPOUNDER FAILS TO
EXPOUND.
The following letter, which was received some
days ago, was mislaid among our papers, and will
explain itself:
TO the Editor Of the National Republican:
SIR: In your issue Of yesterday you arraign me
for us hg technical terms in the report on the
analysis Of food. At the same time you call me
"learned," for which am grateful, which COM
pl iment trUw ! earned in being somswhI 4. Oh
Prof Mendelheh, the learned chemist, Is the
But that you may not remain ignorant OF the
meaning Of the report, and that you may have It
IN very ''plain English" will give you here
g resume Of the same in language that no one Will
fail 70 understand: procured eight specimens Of
chemically and microscopically examined, ana
found that three out OF the eight were not yea a.
all, although 50 sold and marked with sounding
names The other five were all colored and con-
tRlned not third Of the active principle OF Tea
viz: them. These last may have Deen teas usea
once in China, then rolled up again, eolored,
roasted and packed up for the American market.
also procured four specimens Of ground coffee,
three Of which were found 70 contain as much as
sixty per cent. Of acorns, 1.-THE ''quercusn that
bothered you in the report,) only one being pure.
When poor or ignorant people buy these teas
and codees on the presumption that they are
cheaper, they are most grossly and wickedly de-
eeIvedi for it is not cheap coffee or tea that they
buy, but aeOrns or other Ingredients, which they
hOulu LOk Dug lOI the purpose OF lOOQf anu they
did, they would not pay at the high rate Of coffee
0r tea.
lam very happy that the press has taken an
Interest in this large and important subject OF the
adulteration Of food, for greater Developments
will hereafter be exposed that Will make our
people more cautious in the purchase Of food: for
surely, as a French writer once said, "there is
death In the pot"
Yours, 7. s. VERDI.
The Doctor Is entirely too fast We did object
to the technical terms used in the report because
to the majority Of people It was perfectly uninte
ngtble and OF no value whatever. But our
learned friend blundered in suppOsing that the
'jargon" was not understood by US. What we
desired to reprove was the use Of Latin terms
when there was no reason whatever for employ
ing them. The whole subject is as. old as the
Mills, and in endeRyorng to ridicule the practice
we only did what has been done thousands Of
times by journalists and others who see tho alb
surdity Of the thing.
The Doctor undertakes to enlighten our igno-
rance. In doing so he only exposes his OWL want
Of knowledge. For instance, he says; Il also
procured four specimens Of coffee, three Of which
were found to contain as much as sixty per cent.
Of acorns (the quercus that bothered you in the
report) only one being pure" Now "querous"
does not mean an "acorn." We have been taught
10 translate ''Quercus" simply an 'oaK," and we
beg to remind our classical friend that ''glans"
is the proper Latin word for "acorn." We are
more than ever convinced that the learned Doctor
Ind better stick to plain English.