The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1879-03-13
produces eheese-like precipitate in the

!
/ The substance most frequently used
for adulteration is undoubtedly slIphuric
acid, being the cheapest of acids in the
market.
! With little practice. an addition of
sulphurie acid sufficient for pecaniary
profit, can easily be discovered. Take a
wine glass full of vinegar and add a
small quantity of diluted sulphuric acid
/ This mixture win have peculiar taste,
| producing peculiar feeling on the teeth.
An exceedingly simple method for de-
tecting sulphuric acid, a method that
can easily be applied, is the following
Put few drops of the vinegar to be
tested into porcelain saucer, dissolve
| IN it little white cane sugar; place the
saucer on the hot stove to vaporize the
! solution. If after the vaporization there
is coal black residue, the vinegar GER
/ talnly contains sulphuric acid; it is how
ever free from this if the residue is only
! light brown; the brown color also setting
in later, when the applied heat causes
charring. Greedy men often resort to
the most exquisite means to enrich them
/ selves at the expense of others. Thus
| certain manufacturers that have the op-
| portunity to make their vinegar with
! soft water take advantage of the dealers
want Of better knowledge to deceive him
! aud to lead him to suspect manufacturers
! that are compelled to use wellwater, as
/ practicing adulteratlOn and poisoning,
for the purpose of driving them out of
! the market and of doing a better bust
ness themselves. They carry with them,
| for instance, Il vial of chlorate Of barium,
which consists of small, white, fiat, scale
| like irregular crystals, and has a bitter
and acrid salt taste. For the purpose
| of more rapid solution it is sometimes
crushed to powder. This is soluble in
distilled water, in weIl-water however
only partially, on account of the lime
and other salts contained III it, which
cause turbidness. The same is the case
with vinegar manufactured out Of well
water.
| Now comes the cunning manufacturer
OF his agent with his chlorate of baryta
and says, "Gentlemen, let me test your
vinegar, | will show you whether it con
tains poison. Give me your attention.
| Here l have vinegar of my manufacture,
| pour little of it into glass, add to
this Of this white powder as much as the
point OF knife will hold; the solution
is clear; this vinegar is free from poison.
Now try your vinegar; | go through
the same process as before; this vinegar
becomes turbid, consequently there is
poison in it. You rogue. How would
! it be, if you added some aoeU aOGter to
.yOur vinegar, and then made a trial with
| chlorate of baryta on sulphuric acid or
poison as you choose to call it, | wager
that your mixture would become turbid,
and, according to your assertion, would
contain poison though you poured ia
only well water aud no poison. Here
yo,lr craft totally forsakes you, trickster.
However, let us hear what acknowledged
authorities say on this subject. Prof.
Bonner on page 9S in his Treatise on the
manufacture Of vinegar says: "The
common test for detecting sulphuric
acid, a solution Of J barium salt, as var
ium chloride cannot be used with vine
gar, because the latter is almost always
made with water that is not quite pure.
As most well waters contain gypsum, or
suiphate OF lime, it is evident that when
water containing this substance is used,
the barium salt must cause turbidness
even ifno sulphuric acid is present. ="
Another author, j. Fontenelle, pro
fessor Of chemistry III bis manual Of vim
egar manufacture, Weimar, 1864, on
page 1913, expresses himself on this sub
iect as follows; with regard to sui
phnric acid IN vinegar, it should be
remembered, that all vinegar contains
more or less Of sulphate salt, for which
reason sulphuric acid reaction does not
necessarily show that sulphuric acid has
been mixed with the vinegar.
That the test with chlOrate of baryta
is inadmissible and founded on humbug,
[ believe to have sufficiently proven.
But the impudenee Of rl>ny optruders
goes still further. They undertake to
circulate SANDERS at the risk of being
convicted by their own words, CT this
an example: The incident occurred last
fal! at Appleton, in the store of Mr..
Rechner, at that time Rechner and Bro.
In steps vinegar manufactures of
Milwaukee (whoso name 1 can furnish if
desired1 with the words, - ''Weii, sir. |
must sell you some vinegar to-day"
Mr.. Rechner s'No sir. .
Manufactures. r.-!fWhy not2"
Il. II have some
Mani. ''From whom"
r. "From Richter"
Man'f. LET me SEQ iG.''
= = the presence of the manufacturer
draws some from barrel and gives it to
| him.
Mani, fastingl "Why, that contains
poison"
Il. ''Is that so? Very well then I'll
have no more vinegar from a man ike
you, who puts poison into it.
Manufacturer denies thai the vinegar
/ which he has just tasted is his own man
ufacture
Il. shows him the other side of the
| barrel and convinces him that the vine
gar iEst tapped is nom his factory The
manufacturer, red as a beet, confesses. =
This time you've got me" and beg8 of
Mr. Rechner but IN vain, to say nothing
| about the affair. as it might injure him
IL Lis business. Scruples about running
the reputation of slandered business
competitor he had none. The foregoing
incident was related to me by Mr.. Recl-
ner himself,
II at the close have narrated what is
OF minor interest, | ask for indulgence;
it was necessary for my own protection;
yet | hope that the reader may also have
profited little by the perusal of this
short essay.
Manitowoc March 8, 1879.
A. NJ. RICHTER.