The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-08-03

it which have been presented to that body
In the District complaints of food adulteration
are occasionally heard, but owing to a defect in
the phraseology of the bill prohibiting such
aduteration prosecutions are seldom under
taken, and then only upon the clearest evidence
that the adulteration was made in she District,
with the knowledge and criminal intention of
the seller, and that the sale was effected within
The District. Without these assurances the
District Attorney refuses to take up such cases,
and in consequence there are few convictions.
DIR. c. A Crampton food chemist in the In
ternal Revenue Department, is occupied princi-
paly in testing the purity of alcoholic drinks,
butter, and lard, which are sent to his Depart
ment from all over the United States. Congress
has, however, by an act to prevent the manu-
facture or sale of aduterated food or drugs in
the District of Columbia empowered him to
make tests of all food furnished him for that
purpose.
The spirit of competition that makes up so
large portion of the American business man,
when united in the same breast with Yankee in
genuity is productive of many strange freaks
in the way of cheap food. DR.. Champion has
in his possession some of the paste coffee which
is one of the latest products of the manufac-
turer's art. The berries are fairly good iuita-
tions of genuine coffee, and are favored with
something which gives them in slight degree
the taste of coffee. In structure they are very
much like the coffee berry, but upon breaking
can easily be distinguished This bogus coffee
was furnished by the manufacturer 'icontiden-
tally to the trade, who were expected to mix
it with their whole coffee in proportions which,
while not seriously detracting from its flavor,
would give the dealers an additional profit of a
few cents on the pound Whether or not it is
generally used is not known. Presumably not,
as the 'fake' has been detected and published
and the dealers will probably fight shy of it.
Another bogus coffee has been placed on the
within fnw he l,,-o eto
man, who utilized the favorite food of that city
for his purposes. By this process machine is
used to spitth bean and groove and finish tlike
the coffee berry. After being properly colored
it makes fairly good imitation of the real
thing.
Our other most common drink fares even
worse than the first named. The adulterations
and limitations of tea are innumerable Some
Of the cheaper grades are transformed into fine
looking green tea by the use of copper salts,
but the authorities have succeeded in pretty
we'll roofing out these frauds.
Ground pepper made of pulverized cocoanut
shells was source of much profit to its manu-
tacturers, but this firm went under because of
too low tariff duty on the Italian "poiyrette"
compound of almond shell, olive stones
cherry twigs, etc. Mixed with from half to
tenth its weight of good pepper our American
product could stand no show against it,
Sugar has come in for big share of adultera-
ton. At one time the duty on sugar depended
upon its color. The browner the sugar nat
urally the cheaper, and hence the lower the
duty No better suggestion was needed by the
sugar manufacturers of the West Indies who
Immediately began mixing their sugar with a
fine clay which transformed otherwise good
sugar into an article which looked almost
worthless, and was consequently very lightly
taxed in the custom-houses. The American
reiner simply had to dissolve the compound in
water, filter and boil it down in the ordinary
way, and the product was fine white sugar,
which in its raw state pays the highest duty
The Government no longer places valuation
on sugar according to its color, but now uses
the polarscope to determine its strength.
a short time since there was sold here cheap
cinnamon which lost its flavor very quickly and
hence came under suspicion. The Board of
Health undertook to find out what it was made
of, and the chemists work ed assiduously over it
for some time Finally one of them discovered
a speck of green in the red powder. He sub
jected this to the test of the microscope, and
was somewhat surprised to find it a fragment of
a United States internal revenue stamp
consultation held over the minute frag-
ment, and the conclusion finally reached was
that the cinnamon was made up of old cigar
boxes, ground up and favored with little oil
of cinnamon This was carrying the thing a
step beyond even the cocoanut pepper, and
Uncle Sam got angry and swept the manufac-
turing company out Of existence.
novel vineyard was found some time since
by the New York Board of Health, naturally
one of the most vigilant in the country, in the
cellar of a warehouse in the busiest part of the
city, Damaged raisins and decayed curTants
furnished the motive power for the fermenta-
tion, and after the stuff which had evolved itself
from them was treated in the usual manner for
wine 1t became of quality which was consid-
cred good. The manufacturer, who in Offering
it evidently had good opinion of the faith of
New York churchgoers, youched for its re-
spectabiity by saying he had sold it to thou
sand churches in the city for communion wine
Gelatine forms an excellent base for the man
ufacture Of many kinds OF jellies, and, mixed
with burnt sugar, cider vinegar, glucose, and
oil Of Yitriol, it has sold here as a very good and
cheap crabapple jelly.
''Deceptions Of this kind" said DIR. Cramp-
ton, ''we are powerless TO prevent. If brought
to our notice we can analyze them and tell their
character, but unless they have been made in
the DistHct-and such things never are-the
men who sell them cannot be prosecuted: at
least so our lawyers say, and we here have moth
ing to do but take their word for it,"
Other substances which are brought to the
notice Of the Internal Revenue Departments
laboratory are butter and cheese, cocoa and
chocolate, honey, lard, malt liquors, milk, mus
tara, ohYe OIL oysters vinegar, wheaton flour,
and bread.
Oleomargarine is the chief substitute for but
Ter, and, III the winter especially q considerable
4uahuty OF IL Is passed off as such on the pub |
nc. cocoa ana chocolate are each sometimes
auulterated by the addition Of too Iauch flour or |
starch. Honey sometimes is found containing |
glucose, cane sugar, or inverted sugar Lard |
contains frequently goodly proportion Of cot |
tOnseed OIL, beef steaTiue, and other FOREIGN fats
Malt liquors are frequently analyzed here and |
found at times TO contain autiseptics. alkaline |
Dicarbonates, salt, and uuwhOlesorne Littnre
Milk and opened oysters are each adulterated |
by the addition Of water. Olive OIL sornetirnes |
contains cottonseed, sesame, or other ycoetaFIe |
OILS. Nheaten hour and bread are found TO |