Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-03-03
COTTON SEED OIL. \
History of it's Use as an Adulteration 81
Hog Lard.

Hog Lard.
WASHINGTON, March 3.-The House Com.
mittee on Agriculture, now engaged in
investigating the question Of lard adultera'
ton, heard Abraham J. Jewell, commits
sion merchant of New York, and a member
of the New York Produce Exchange.
Up to 1878, he said, he had been in the
lard business, and had dealt largely in lard.
His firm had been probably the first in the
country to manufacture refined lard. Be
fore the hog packing business was brought
10 its present state of excellence, and when
the hogs were cured in small establishments,
it was almost impossible to get thousand
tierces Of lard of any uniformity, and his
firm had conceived the idea of remembering
the lard so as to make it uniform. 1t put
no outside substance into the lard, but into
the lard which was exported to South
American countries il mixed stearine IN
order to harden the lard and enable 1t to
stand the warm weather.
Competitor had grown so rapidly that
manufacturers sought something to cheaper
the product and used water. Finally so
much water was put into the lard that the
buyers rejected it. As much as IS per cent.
of water was put in. To-day steam lard
contained two or three per cent. OF water,
scarcely any less than one per cent. ket-
lIe-TeHu6Etu ldIu WAS dDsOiutSlN licC AiSAii
water When the buyers refused the lard
on account of the large amount of water in
it, the manufactures looked about for some
cheap article TO take its place, and fixed
upon cotton seed oil. 1t was found that it
combined with lard without damaging it,
while it cheapened its cost. The adding OF
the oil to the lard necessitated the use OF 8
hardening substance like stearine to coun-
teract it.
About the time cotton seed oil began to
be used, oleomargarine came into the
market. 1t was from the kidney fat of the
bullock. There was nothing purer that
could come from An animal fat, and it was
used in hardening lard. He did not know
exactly what proportion of cotton seed oil
went into the lard, but he should think the
proportion to be about sixty pounds of lard
to twenty-five pounds of oil and fifteen
Of stearine. This product he considered to
be wholesome and just as good as pure
lard, as far as cooking was concerned. There
were standard Qualities of cotton seed oil,
but he did not know that they differed eI-
Cept as TO color.
The chairman-Do you know how cotton
seed oil is transported from the South2
The witness-1 think it comes in barrels.
The chairman-Do you know whether the
Standard Oil Company is transporting cot.
ton seed oil from the Soutn IN coal OH USr-
rels?
The witness-I do not. never heard Of
it, but think it would be practicable.
The Chairman-Would you regard it as
the proper thing for the Standard Oil Com
pany to i'll. tanks in Pennsylvania with coal
oil and take them South, and then fill
them with cotton seed oil for transportation
to the North?
The witness-No, sir; it would utterly
ruin it
The chairman-If it has been done, it
would change your views about the whole
somepess of this product?
The witness-It could not be done with
out detection.
The chairman-Then it has been detected
because ii has been done. The evidence is
conclusive on that point The parties who
transported it have sworn to it before the
Interstate Commerce Commission. The
chair knows exactly what it Is talking
about.
Mr.. Cromwell-At the proper time l
would like the privilege of correcting the
chairman.
The chsirman-The chairman would like
to be corrected if you bring here to perjure
themselves the witnesses who testitiend to
the fact
Mr.. Morgan-Would not business man
who would do that be deranged?
The witness-lf he wanted to use the oil