The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1886-10-16

detrimental food which, by reason of their
! superior strength, may not seriously affect
the health of adults, as is well known, FIRE
quently acts upon the more delicate organs
Of the child to produce disorders of the most
serious character. The amount of laudanunl
or other poison that would be harmless to an
adult will cause the death of an infant. This
great difference between the vitality of adult
and children is too generally overlooked in
the preparation Of food. Because harm i'm
mediately perceptible comes to the adult by
the use of an article Of food. no thought is
given TO the effect it may have upon the
more delicate organs Of inferior age.
Children diet largely upon cake and bread,
and these articles, if light, sweet AMI com
posed of materials that are free from inur.
ious substances, are easily dgested nutrl.
tiOus and wholesome. There is danger to
our children, however, lurking in their bread
and cake which is too often lost sight Of.
These article are now leavened largely by
baking powders, and when pure and whole
some baking powders are used they make
not only the most palatable food, bat one
much more wholesome and nutritlve than If
leavened with yeast or cream of tartar and
soda. The trouble arises from the fact as
shown by scientific tests by the Government
chemists and by official boards Of health,
that all these baking powders, with the sin
gle exception of the Royal contain either
| lime, alum, phosphates or acids of an injur-
ious character; Therefore when bread or
| cake is made with the use OF these CHEAP bak-
| ing powders these Ingredients (Which are
present through the efforts Of the manufact-
urers to produce a cheaper article) pass into
| the food and are tax Ell into the delicate or
gans of childhood where they are the source
of very much of the disease with which our
| children are afflicted.
Persons who have not strong constitutions,
growing girls, young children and nursing
mothers are particularly liable to the evil
effects produced by the introduction of the
adulterants named as 'ound in the cheap bak.
ing powders. Heartburn and the prevalent
forms of Indigestion are often solely trace
able to the action Of alum on the delicate
ats of the stomach. Prof Parker L. 5.
Surgeon General Hammond Prof. A Clark
most eminent physicians of New York, with
scores of others, have written and spoken
most earnestly of the evils arising from par
taking of such food There should be as
much care in the choice Of baking powder
as IN obtaining pure MIX OF III haNluS pre-
scripion compounds from pure drugs and
not from posOns.
The matter is one Of the greatest impor-
tacce, particularly to the rising generation,
and while our conservative law makers are
making up their minds as to the proper leg
lslation to stop the sale Of the poisonous
compounds, mothers will do well to study 1t
carefully. The housekeeper will experience
no Inconvenience in di.carding the use of the
adulterated baking powders, if she has been
using it, as the Royal Baking Powder upon
the purity and whoesomeness of which all
the Government chemists agree, is equally
accessible; but she will need to exercise a
close watch upon her packages from the
grocer in order to prevent the interior brands
from creeping into her kitchen unawares.
In what we have felt it our duty 10 say in
reference to the subject of baking powers
there is no intention to disparge the work or
the products of those many manufacturers in
other lines Of food products who, with con-
scieuiousness and liberality, are serving the
public with pure and wholesome articles of
diet