Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1879-04-05
ter OF the leaves that the fraud is not
easily detected.

VIC CONSUMERS OF 'tea" make away with
thousands Of pounds of Prussian blue.
every year. This coloring is largely
done in China during the curling pro-
cess. and adds nothing whatever, save
weight and poison. to The leaf.
When teas were higher than at pres
ent. very important Importation was
known as lie-tea, composition made OF
tea dust, foreign leaves, quartz and OK
ide of iron and starch This lle-tea, and
whether there is poorly concealed sa-
tire in the name or not, is a question.
was used largely for adulterating pur-
poses, but it is not used here at present.
OF late very noticeable traffic has been
done in recolored tea, which is reheat-
ed and then sprlnkled with powdered
mixture OF terra alba, Dutch pink and
Prussian blue. The leaves, when COW
cred with this impalpable powder, look
quite as good as new and find ready
sale. Strange as it may appear it is a
fact that the intelligent public resplutely
decline to touch or be inveigled into
purchasing the genuine article. They
clamor for the "nice green color" while
the natural, unoolored leaf has bilious.
yellow color, which no one cares to see.
Recently several samples OF tea were
analysed and carefully examined under
the microscope, especially for foreign or
spent tea leaves. With the exception Of
tea dust and coloring matter the micro
scope revealed no foreign substance.
The coloring matter looked, under mi-
croscope. as if it had been plastered OIL
the surface of the tea without any regard
to quantity.
THE MIXTURE.
The mixture was composed of china
clay and tale for the white color, car
Donate of lime and yellow organic col
oring matter for the yellow color called
Dutch pink sulphate OF baryta and Prus-
sian blue. called celestial blue, for the
blue coloring matter. BY mixing these
together green coloring matter is OBJ
tanned, the per centage being as follows:
China clay or tale. c........................ss.s $3.50
paIaa, Dutch ,ai .1nsi Elm: ...........-..h u
Of this from l to s per cent. was
found in the samples by shaking the
"tea In small piece of fine muslin
over a bit OF black paper. 1t does not
appear that sufficient quantity OF this
coloring matter can be taken by tea
drinking to do material damage to indi-
| viduals. but the experiments prove the
existence OF the foreign substances, for
which the only possible excuse can be
the determination of the public to en-
| courage the drinking of the green.
1t would be folly in the face of facts
to say that unadulterated teas are sold
in this market, or to assume that any
considerable percentage of teas used is
| free and spotless from the hand of the
chemical tamperer; but, while adulter-
ations are made here, it seems to be the
general official conviction that the hea-
then Chinee is the bad bad man to whom
most OF it is traceable. The laws Of
England refuse entry to adulterated
teas Here, according to Dr. Angel, of
Boston. s''exhausted tea leaves are i'm
ported at as low price as teas" They
have been redried and colored with
Prussian blue or indigo and combined
with powdered gypsum and turmeric.
Every hutel proprietor knows that his
tea leaves are kept and sold. During
the late war the hospitals were furnish
ed with tea, and leaf gatherers went
about collecting what was left. 1t is not
probable that the business of fixing up
-renovating, in fact-these half used
tea leaves, once 80 profitable, is entirely
dead. On the contrary, it is said that
in this city there is factory whers
these leaves are dried on copper plates.
stepped in acid and variously piled with
chemicals until they reassume their
pristine curl, and are sent forth again in
the brand new Chinese paper packages
to charm the nostrlls and delight the
palates of metropolitan connoisseurs in
pure Bohea. Recently parties have made
their appearance in down town stores
and offices, where they offer "pound
packages of tea," done up Ia Chinese,
and with oil the fimsy paper addenda
that go lar to impress the average mind.
They sell these pound packages at the
reasonable rate of ten cents. People
purchase freely, and some say they can
detect no difference between that tea and
tea for which they pay sixty cents q
pound. Investigation suggests that ho-
tel cefuse is the basis, and that sunshine
and acids are the supplemental factors.
Purchasers readily detect the exquisite
bouquet, for the bouquet is there; and
the gorgeous green, for that, too, is
there; and they shrug their shoulders
when told that the tea IS too cheap for a
genuine article, and altogether too dear
at any price if a manufactured one. ~
There was black fog In London one
morning a fortnight ago. About half.
past 10 o'clock remarkable wave of
darkness suddenly spread over the city,
and for 20 minutes it was as dark as on
a moonless night. The features OF per.
sons standing close to one another could
not be distinguished. The darkness dit
fered from that of an ordinary log as
distant lights could be seen as clearly AZ
on an ordinary night. sssls.,
1t is certain that there is unusual &C:
tivity among the revolutionary classes
in Russia. They display almost incredi-
BILE boldness. A publication declaring
that the governor OF Charkoff has been
condemned to death by the Russian
Socialist party. tor inhuman treatment
| to political prisoners, and that the act
| of ASSASSINATION was consequently exc.
cuted by one of that party, was openly
posted in the halls OF the University on
the day after he was shot. 1t is believed
| in st. Petersburg the Nihilists are inter-
ested in spreading the reports concern
ing the plague.
The Washington correspondent Of the
Republican states that the appear ance
of MIR. Lay in the house at the risk of
his health, to cast a vote which was alb
solutely necessary, has made him pop
ular with the democrats. A Globe-Dem-
ocrat special says: Repre-: sentative
Lay. who left the Hot Springs of Arkan-
sas in great haste to be here to particle;
pate in the organization of the house.,
has paired with representative Dick. of
Pennsylvania. and will return to the
springs Immediately. Representative
Dick was at the Hot Springs at the same
time, and will also return there.
According to Hon. j. Stanton Gould.
clover has been used as human iood Tor
generations by the Indians OF the plains.
The Digger Indians OF California eat it
raw, and also cook it by placing tlick
layer of the green clover between stones
that have been previously heated. Wllsn
young onions or chives and grasshop-
pers are mingled with clover, the
dish is considered great luxury. The
Apaches mingle together clover, pig
weed and dandelions In vessel, which
is then filed with water. Stones that
have been heated in the fire are then
thrown in. and when they have impart-
Il al.