The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-01-25
WHAT STUFF people, EAT.

George I. Angel read a paper before the
American Social Science Association in
Boston. ON Wednesday, al :. Public Health
Associations" ia which lIc made some
startling assertions 4hagt the adulteratIun
Il food. lie said:
Cayenne pepper = adu!teTaied with red
lead, mustard, with chroIua'e OF lead. cur
~ powder with rcd lead. vinegar with
suiphuIic acid. Arsenic and corrosive sub
Innate. II j. stated that probably half ,he
vinegar NOW sold in our cities is rank
poison. cGc of our Boston chemists anal
yzr;i twelve packages of pickles. put up 10y
twelve different wholesale dealers, aud
iouud copper III ten Of them. Many flavor
ing oils, syTuTs, i'ilieS and preserved fruits
contain poisuns. The adul,era;.1ua IL tea
are too many /" mention. Coffee is no:
oaly adnl'crarcd, hut patent las been
taken out for moulding chiccnry into the
form Of coffee berries, and am told tina, clay
Is NOW moulded, and perhaps favored with
AN essence. to represent cnifsr. Cocoa aud
chocolate are aduitrratJd with vaIipus
MINERAL substances.
Several mills in Now England, and prob
ably many ri>eHhrrc, arc Tuw engaged in
grinding white stone Into 4 zine powder for
purposes Of aiul,c;.tlon. Al some of these
rIIls they sriui three grsdrs-soia grade
sugar grade aud ilpur grade. 1t sells for
about half cent a pound. Flour has been
adulteratei in Eng land. and probably here.
with plaster Of Paris, bone dust, sand, clay
chalk, and other articles AIN told that
l.lEc quantities Of damaged and uuwhule
some grain are g:ouud in wiki Hour, par
ticulariy that kind called Graham -four.
Certainly. :,uuir,ds. and PROBABLY thou
sands of terra alba or WHITE earth, a,e
sold in our cities rreiy year to bc mixed
with sugars in confectionery aud other
white substances. | am told 10y an eminent
physician thz: this tends to produce stone
kidney Complaints, and various discases of
the stomach. \ Boston chcm:s, tells me
that hr has fouud - per cent. OF terra
alba IN what was sold aS cream of tartar
used for cook ug. \ large N-w York house
sells three grades OF cream pf tartar. \
Boston chemist recently analy zed :, sample
OF the best grade. and found 20 per cent
ri "teTra alba il! that. Much Of our
confectionery contains 80 per cent. or more
OF terra alba The coioring matter Of
confectionery frequently contains lead
mercury, arsenic add copper. Baking
powders aye widely sold which contain a
Lrrge percentage OF terra alba and alum
II is no, sSater alone that is mixed with
milk. Thousands Of gallons, and probably
hundreds uf ;bousI uds of gallons, are
sp.i IN our cities which have passed through
large TINS. or va:s, IN which it has been
II. IX'd with various substances. Receipts
ioI the mixture can he bought by ,:ew milk
men from old, nu payment Of the required
sr'u. am assured upon what believe TO
%. reliable authority. that thousands of
gallons Of so-cailrd milk have been, and
probably are, sold IN this city, which do
10: contain one drop 81 the genuine article
LI!se quantities of the meats of animals
more u: less diseased. are sold in our mar
hcts. Cows in the ncighborhood Of our
large cities are fed upon material which
p:cduccs u large ilpw of unwholesome milk
Poultry are fed upon material which pro
GGcys unwhole some eggs. Meats and fish
are made uuwhnles"me, frequently poison.
GUS. by careless aud cruei methods of kill
ing. \ California chemist recently anal
wed many samples of whisky, purchased
AZ different places III san Francisco. lie
found them tduIteraied with crcosote, salts
Of copper alum aud other Injurious sub
stances. lie states 1t, III his published re-
port. As his opinion. that there is hardly
any pure whisky sold in that city. \ gen
tienan recently purchased from 4 prpmi
ueut Boston firm cask Of pure sherry
wine for his sick wife. HIS wife grew
worse. lie had the wine analyz,d and
found there Nas not drop "f the juice of
the grape IN II. An eminent medical gen
tlrmau # Boston. sand to me: " The adul-
tcra'Inus of drugs III this country are per
f.c,ly abpmiuabIc - say that Laws
should hc enacted and enforced proh biting
the manufacture AMI sale OF these poison
Gus aud dangerous articles under severe
penalties, and compelling the uanufaciur-
erS and sellers of adu,icrated articles to
tell buyers the precise character of the
adu lteratIons.