Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-06-17
FRAUDS ON POOR FARMERS.
Three New Swindles Which Are Being
Tried on Rural InnOcents.


Tried Rural InnOcents.
4 NEW KIND OF SwINDLE HAS EX-
N cited the attention of tine Department Of
Agriculture. Certain ingenious persons are
manufacturing for sale to farmers product
which they call 'Rilt-edge butter compound, Il
or by other names equally attractive 1t is
alleged that by the use OF this substance the
Agricultural can double the quantity OF butter
obtained from a single COW or from any num-
Der OF animals.
Tine process is very simple. You take pint
Of fresh milk and as much Of the compound
as you can heap on a silver dime. These you
put into a churn together with one pound OF
soft butter. and you agitate the mixture for a
short time. at the end of which it is found to be
transformed into two pounds OF good butter.
How could any farmer resist the temptation to
double his output of butter by such an easy
means?
At the same time il is pretty evident that the
amount of butterfat is not increased by this
method and in the resulting two pounds there
only be as much of it as was contained in
the original one pound. plus the small quantity
derived from the pint If milk. THIS fac. is
quite vivid!v shown by chemical analysis.
! Whereas good butter usually holds only 16 per
cent of water. the stuff produced by the gilt
edge compound contains so per cent OF water.
| Nevertheless. the latter looks very much like
gen uine butter, though considerably softer.
The ''gils-edge compound is simply pepsin.
Mixed with butter it produces emulsion
which enables the butter to take up an equal
weight of milk without altering its appearance
materially. ANY other digestive ferment. such
rs rennet. will accomplish tine same result
The compound' sold at the rate OF 81 so for a
2-ounce box. the actual value being about cents.
One disadvantage of its use is tina butter man.
ufactured IN the way described quickly spols.
1t il an adulterated food product and should be
prohibited by law. One firm has declared its
intention to spend S125, 900 in advertising the
fraudulent substance during the present year.
The advertising is chiefly done by sending pos
tai cards and circulars to the farmers.
This firm offers to the farmers three at
tractive articles. One is the butter making
compound referred to. The second is electro
! fled silver" This is described ns n metnl for
use in silver plating. According to the adver-
| tisement it 'can be used without any battery
and requires no experience to apply it. You
can plate dozen spoons in fifteen minutes and
guarantee them for ten years. Each package
will do $3.50 worth of plating. Retail price.
| 81 80 per package"
This plating preparation is mercurial
| amalgam and is Of no value Whatever. For
| obvious reasons a coating of it spoons and
other table ware is exceedingly dangerous 70
health. The third specially offered is a
| compound extract of SALIVA powder for
preserving fruits ard vegetables" 1t is stated
that each hox preserves twenty five gallons OF
! fruit. Retail price. 81. 25 n box. Under this
thin disguise the notoriously poisonous
| s,ilicylie acid is made to masquerade. Because
I few Newspapers will admit to their columns the
advertisements OF such cheats the firm is
obliged to rely on circulars and postal cards
These should be excluded from the mails As
fraudulent