The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1886-10-08
Housekeeping Pests.

Complaints are made from various Sec
tions of band Of baking powder tramps
whose tricks upon unsuspecting house
keepers seems to partake very much Of
the nature of confidence operations The
band is composed of women, although
employed and directed by an agent of
the other sex, and thiir method of proce
dure, as explained by several ladies who
have been victimized is as follows: OBJ
tanning access to the kitchen, they intro.
duce the subject of baking powders in
quiring the kind used in the family. Be-
ing shown the can, perhaps fresh. full
one, they volunteer to test" tito ascer-
tain its qualities. Their test consists
in placing the can on hot steve or over
lamp or gas jet. or in mixing the bak.
ing powder with water both hot and
cold. If the baking powder is good for
nything the heat will, of course, expel
the gas, which. being amoniacal or car
bonic, is apparent to the sense of smell.
The claim is then made that this odor in.
dicates something detrimental. although,
as matter of fact, baking powder that
would give off no gas when subjected to
heat would be without leavening power
and valucless. If pure it effervesces
quickly. The baking powder they ped
die being similarly mixed foams up slow
ly like yeast standing perhaps over the
top of the glass. This they claim as evil
dence of superiority. whereas it is the
exhibition of trick only. their baking
powder having been pecially prepared
to make this test by the addition of flour,
gum or albumen. 1t is sure evidence of
adulteration. OF course the object Of
these fraudulent tricks is to destroy conf
dence in all other kinds of baking pow
der, and to sell the particular brand for
which the women are travelling.
Where this is the whole of the oper-
alton, housekecpers would not often be
deceived. Every intelligent person
knows that baking powder is not msde
to be used in this way, but in cooking
where it's action is entirely different from
that produced by dry heat or by mixture
with water alone. The chief object of
this jugglery is to destroy the baking
powder given for testing; or by heating
it to drive of its lesvening gases. and SO
weaken 1t that when used it will fail TO
work. At the next baking there is heavy
food, Of course, and the tramp prob
ably gets the credit of having told the
housekeeper valuable fact, instead of
having spoiled her baking powder, as was
actually the case. The average tramp"
will, in this way, destroy from fifty to
seventy-tive pounds of baking powder a
day.
A second method of spelling for use
the baking powder in kitchen where
they arc not permitted to experiment
with it. is by dexterously throwing in the
can small quantity of salt, soda or pow
dered lime. Again, should there chance
to be no baking powder in the house, the
operator will produce. of the kind used
by the family. sample that has been
purposely adultcrated or "doctored" to
make such an exhibit as they desire under
the so-called tests.
The only way to protect our food from
being contaminated by tramps of this
kind is to turn all persons who wish to
attempt to tampeI with it unceremon.
iously from the door, and to use those
articles, only. which experience has
proved satisfactory, or the official tests
have established as pure aud wholesome.