The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1886-06-25
CANNED GOODS.
What a Chemist Has to Say About Solder.
ing and Lead Poisoning.

What a Chemist Has to Say About Solder
ing and Lead Poisoning.
have made a speciality of the adul-
terations and deterioration of articles
of food. The usage OF canned goods has
multiplied over one hundred per cent
in the past ten years and is increasing
daily through the introduction of new
foods and new conserves. This in
crease indicates that this sort of goods
is becoming a necessity for the Nation
and especially for the poorer classes.
For these reasons extraordinary care
should be taken, not only with regard
to the reduction of the food to be pre-
served, but also as to the process of
canning same. The great and rapidly
increasing competition in this line OF
business has brought into requisition a
large amount of cheap and inexperi-
enced labor, and the soldering of many
cans manufactured for the preservation
and shipment of food must necessarily
be done without the proper precautiOn.
A skilled timer can solder with rOsin
alone, but then he can not solder one
third as many cans as when chemicals
are brought into requiSitiOn. In the
use of the latter, chloride of zinc or tin
not unfrequently mixes with the article
of canned food While chloride of tin
in small quantities, by some analysts,
is considered in less degree injurious
to the human system, chloride of zinc
even in small quantities is poisonous.
1t has even been claimed that Bright's
disease is partially due in the United
States to the amount of chloride metals
introduced into the human system by
the habitual use of canned articles of
food. / am, however, of the opinion
that only the best should be permitted
to enter into the human household, and
if it is reduced to a question of one
cent per can, and we are satisfied that
soldering with rosin will secure immu-
nifty from all poisonous substances, by
all means let us pay the difference and
make the soldering with rOsin Obliga-
tory under the law. AS another safe
guard, the manufacturer should be
compelled to have stamped upon
each can of preserved goods the
year of canning and the firm
name of the manufacturer. By
this the buyer would be furnished a
perfect guarantee of the freshness of
the article purchased. If, however,
the goods are properly canned, the
most harmless solder having been
used, and the air driven out of the can
before sealing, little, if any, danger
turks in canned goods. It must never
theless be borne in mind that these
kinds of goods, no matter how well
put up, deteriOrate when the lid has
been opened for any length of time.
They should be used Immediately. II
frequently occurs that the soldering
contains lead, then of course what is
L. TooA g boT 10
This character of poisoning is pro-
duced by minute doses introduced into
the human system for a length of time.
Sometimes the symptoms are so OBJ
scure and difficult to trace that it re-
quires a good diagnOstic to discover
them. Constipation, cramps, palsy,
affection of the brain, are the most
common symptoms. Furthermore, q
person can take minute quantities of
lead for a long time without expert
encing any of the symptoms men
toned, and finally succumb instanta-
neously from the accumulation in the
system of lead poison. For instance,
in the case of painters, printers, who,
in the generality of cases, conduct
their business for years with impunity
and finally succumb to the full toxic
properties of lead. This character of
poison has also been produced by to-
bacco wrapped in tin foil containing
lead, as well as from boiling food in
glazed vessels where the enamel con-
tanned lead.
1 knew of a case where three gentle
men of this city, who were in the
habit of frequenting a certain saloon
every day, were suddenly taken sick,
and it was positively shown that the
water from the cistern was conveyed
to the bar through lead pipe. These
parties, who had been drinking the
water furnished through this pipe for
months, were taken sick simultane-
ously.-N. O. Times Democrat.