The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-06-21
Western Lard.

Inc investigation conducted by the
Directors Of the Chicago Board of Trade
over the charges preferred against the
lard of the Fowlers is star. chamber
affair, and the public will therefore be
apt to lose all interest in it. No matter
how the matter is decided the people will
be in possession of no evidence upon
which they can base an opinion as to the
correctness of the decision of the Board.
The investigation will last, it is said, sew
eral days, and fit was conducted openly
much good might come of it.
Whether the lard in question was adul-
terated or not, it is admitted by all good
judges that the inspection methods in
use in Chicago and all other packing
cities of the northwest are simply delu-
sic;.o. They are Teinspections that do no.
inspect, and any reasonable degree of
adulteration is branded by the inspectors
as prime steam lard. The Fowlers prac.
tically claim in their answer that their
lard is as good as any other steam lard
In the Chicago market, and doubtless
they will be able to establish it's compar.
ative value; but when they have done
that they have not shown that they man.
ufacture pure lard. On the contrary
quite the reverse.
All lard, or nearly all lard-undoubt.
edly all shipped to Southern markets
is adulterated. Some of it is harmlessly
adulterated and some Of it is not. The
Chicago Tribune printed talk between
one of its reporters and DR.. T. Williams,
a chemist OF high standing. DR..
Williams stated that he frequently found
III or IL per cent. of water in steam.
rendered lard, when there should be but
2 per cent. He added: II heard that
one very prominent renderer here
received 2l0 barrels of Missouri clay,
and saw sample. It is sent here as
an adulterate, and is used not only in
lard, but il almost everything else, where
terra alba could not cut any figure. It
has no texture, and has a granulated
appearance under the microscope when
pulverized for the market. 1t is better
adulterant than the white earth for lard
because terra alba would be precipitated
In this climate and be found at the bottom
of the package. The clay is not 80 dense,
though quite heavy, and could be used
with success to the extent of 10 or l5 per
cent. Its presence csn be detected with
the microscope. BY the use of water and
the clay lard can be adulterated 25 per
cent" He added that this kind of
COufA uOt U6 uCt6CLCu Dy Tue
eye certainly not by the inspectors that
Chicago prefers to employ. Water and
Missouri clay are not, however, wholly to
be relied on in the packing houses. 1t
is known that tallow, beef fat, cotton
seed oil, and low grade grease that should
not to be seen outside of soap factories,
are often used. It is known that lari
which has become yellow is subjected to
vile process of bleaching, restoring its
color and market value without render
ing it more palatable if the entire pro.
cess was understood
The truth is, no family man who wants
to know just what is put before him and
his family at the breakfast table shoEld
use Western lard. Lard of homo pro.
duction can be trusted, and when that
fails we have an excellent substitute in
cotton seed oil, which is now refined to
such degree as 70 be unobjectionable for
nearly all domestic purposes. 1t is also
n product of home factories.-ANanta
Cbnstitution.