The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-03-18
TREASURY CHEMISTS.
HOW EXPERTS MAKE TESTS OF
FOOD AND DRINK.

Million Pounds of Oleomargarine
Used Every Month-EnouRh Liquor
in Uncle Sans Custody to IntOxicste
the Worlds Population-Detect
Work in Tobscco-Odd Facts About
Sugar
Bene Bache IN Washington STAY,
Hidden away in dark and cobwebby
corner beneath the roof Of the treasury IS a
room filed with a mysterious assemblage
of oueer-Iooking apparatus which has the
aspect of an alchemist's laboratory. \ ct
the work done there has TO do not with the
making Of gold OF a vital elixir, but with
the analysis Of food and drink. 1t is the
chemical division Of the internal revenue
bureau, and one Of the matters it has in
charge is the detection OF fraud 10 the sale
of oleomsrgsrine for butter.
1t seems starting to learn that the con-
sumption Of oieomargarine IN this country
has doubled in the last five years. The
people Of the United States eat 100000
pounds of it every month, or "a, 900 tons Of
it annually. Nearly all OF it is put up by
the great meat packers in Chicago, Clucin-
natl, New York, Providence and Kansas
City The manufacture Of 1t IS la Stul, but
il is not permitted to masquerade as butter
IN the Market CuSptGLcl bdlupkbs dEc
bounced upon by revenue agents and sub
mitted to chemical test.
Many hotels and restaurants and board
ing houses in the United States use Oleo-
margarine. For their purposes this arti-
fetal product is excellentIy adapted.
Whereas butter quic Jly spoils oieomar
garine always looks nice aud remains fresh
indefinitely Some of it which has been
kept at the treasury for three years is as
good as ever to-day 1t is better in flavor
than any except first rate Uutter. People
who buy ranc d butter for cooking would
do much better 20 purchase oleomargarine
The best of the latter is no. cheap, costing
as much as 25 cents pound, thus approach
ing ordinary grades of butter in price.
HOW oLEOMARGARINE Is MADE.
The peculiar flavor of butter is due to tho
presence Of As per cent. Of fatty acids.
These acids are volatile and rapidly de-
compose, hence the rapidltY with which the
substance spoils. OleomarRarine contains
very little of such destructi0le material. 1t
is made from beef fat, which is removed
from she animal in the process OF slaughter
ing, washed. aud placed Ia a cold-waber
bath. Next, the fat is cut into small pieces
by machine, and cooked until the liquid
portion has been separated from the tissues.
The liquid fat is settled until perfectly
clear. Then it is pressed TO extract the
stearlne. leaving a pure "oleo oil, which,
cOmes oleOmargarine. The fat, being al
most tasteless, butter is put in to give the
requisite flavor, the best oleomargarine
having 20psr cent. Of the finest butter.
ANALYzING "soFT DRINKS
Another part of the work Of the treasury
chemists consists 10 Analysing so-called
Temperance beverages to find out whether
they are alcoholic and taxable as such
Especially in parts Of the country where
f. -
beer for sale under such innocent names as
'hop pop" is common. Many of the drinks
and medicines advertised as strictly nom
alcoholic are in reality highly intoxicating
People who are ailing find them very
comforting" and even well persons regard
1t as exPedlent to buy their liquor iu such
DISCUSSES An investl9 alton of this subject
instituted few years ago revealed the fact
that nearly all beverages thus labeled con-
tain alcohol, some OF them running up to 40
per cent. Whisky at proof is only 80 per
cent. alcohol. Cool Jamaica ginger is
mostly brandy. The government will not
permit it to be- sold as a drink without pay-
ing tax.
The Mckinley law permits makers Of
sweet wines, such as sherry and port, to
fortify them with grape brandy up to a
limit of "a per cent. of alcohol, in order to
keep them from sourinR. Samples are
tested at the treasury to make sure that
they do not exceed this.
SPIRITS IN BOND.
1t is a remarkable thing to consider, by
the way, that there is a sufficient quantity
of spirituous liquors now in the custody OF
Uncle Sam 10 intOKicate every human be-
ing on the face of the earth. There are at
present ll0,000,p10 gallons of all kinds OF
spirits locked up by the governments in
warehouses. Every dtstiller is obliged by
law TO have warehouse barred and looked
.-wks aA - III L.
must be stored, under the charge of a
United States storekeeper. The locks and
seals put on the warehouse are provided by
the government, to which the distiller gives
bond that he will remove the liquor and
pay the tax on It before the expiration OF
three years. This is what is meant by
''spirits in bond"
PROOF AND ABOVE PROOF.
The tax on whisky and other spirits is 80
cents gallon. If below proof it pays just
as much; II above proof il pays more in
proportion. Proof is so per cent. alcohol.
The alcohol Of commerce Is about 1888 per
cent OF proof. High wines are about $50
per cent. They are coarse spirits produced
from grain by strong fermentation and dis
tilling. By making the process rapid, with
plenty of yeast for the ferment, four or five
gallons cad be got out of one bushel of corn.
Good whisky, however, is not made in that
way. Only a small amount of yeast Is put
with the grain to ferment it, and the result
is a slow Installation which only obtains
about 216 gallons from a bushel of corn.
High wines are used for compromising; that
Is, the manufacture OF beverages artiicially
by utilizing them as q base and adding vari.
Gus favorinR essences, etc. Obviously this
lie much cheaper way 60 produce liquors
than the comparatively wasteful method of
slow distillation. Most of the bourbon and
rye whisky that one drinks is produced in
this fashion.
ARTIFICIAL LIQUORS.
However, high wines contain much fusel
oil and other Objectionable crudities and for
this reason compounders usually employ
them In modified shape known as COLOGNE
spirits" The latter are made by passing
the high wines through charcoal and by
other refining processes. Cologne spirits
are neutral in flavor, being practically
tasteless and thus they readily absorb what
ever havors may be introduced. Brandy is
manufactured from them by mixing a per-
centage OF real brandy with them. Ii they
are TO be converted into whisky a iudicious
proportion Of the finest bourbon may be
added SO extensive is this Industry of
making artificial liquors that nearly one
half Of the production of spirits in this
country Is in the shape of nigh wines and
cologne spirits. Dishonest dlstillers swiudle
Uncle Sam out of an enormous amount Of
IL