Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1883-08-30

New YORK., August 23.-The mcst
Important seizure OF teas at this port
since the passage of the act OF March =,
1888, prohibiting the importation of :
adulterated teas into this iconntry, was
made yesterday by Mr.. james 4.
.Dayies, Inspector of teas Mt this port.
The invoices rejected as unstable COM.
prised about Zoo half chests of
what are known 10 the trade IS IS
Japanese tea-cust. There were twelve
steamers Pembrokeshire, Nlosser,
and City Of Toxic. BY the. standard
adopted by the government chemist.
Prof. Buttershall, the teas condemned
were very much below what they should
be, and an anslyais showed the samples
to be much adulterated and utterly unfit
for use. Some facts relative to the adul-
tefation of teas have come to light in con-.
nection with the examination of teas, un-
der the recent act, by Prof. Bnttershalk
and DIR. j. Il. Davies, which may
well put people on their eusrd US to the
kinds OF tea they use as d beverage.
The Japan tea-dust, even in tte cparsest
grades, has hardly semblance cf leaf
in it. 1t is generally a powder having
in it's unadulternted state the color Of
the genuine leaf. 1t is the siftipgs that
fall through the sieve when the leaf
tea is being prepared for ship
ment. When adulterated the powder
and the leaf, too, assume a pale-green
hue, and have distinct luster
very like that on bit of silk or satin.
Tea a-buyers may always safely assume
thof too xv,tl, m
an adulterated or "faced tea, as it is
known to the trade. Wishing to ascer-
tain the material used in the coloriDg Of
tea, Mr.. Davies secured from one Of the
largest houses in this city engaged in
the importation of japan teas samples of
the materials used for analysis; three
boxes of fine powders in their pure state
and two of the powders mixed ready
for nsc we're given 30 the chemist for
analysis. Two of the unmixed powders
OF pure white proved to be gypsum and
soapstone respectively. The shird, a.
deep blue powder, WAS Prussian biuer
which is m active poison, and which
the importer before an analysis WAS
made claimed was not P1ussian blue,
but blue powder the composition OF
which WAS secret with The japanese,
an illusion quickly dispelled when the
chemical tests were made. One OF tho
mixed powders contained 5 per
cent. of this active poison, and
the other 10 per cent. These powders.
pale blue iu color, are the material used
in giving to tea the pale green color
which 80 many tea buyers erroneously
consider mark Of good tea, and with.
out their use that color cnnuot be OBJ
tained. Tea SO oolurcd and adulte1ated
was tue .tsa rej-c,el by Mr.. Davies
TO day. There are how five firms i'll
this city known 70 be engaged in tho
coloring of tea after importation, using
the materials described. Mr.. Davies
received for examination samples of in
voices of adulterated teas from the col.
lectors of the ports of Detroit, Chicago,
Ogdensburg and Plattsburg, at each
of which places the teas had been!
rejected, and asking for his opinion.
The government chemists have tested
nearly 400 samples of tea since the tea
law went into effect the 1st of April.
They have found, in addition to other
facts, that green teas are converted into
black teas by the use OF iron, and that
black teas are converted inta green's by
the use of the Prussian blue compound.