The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-04-13
Health HintS and ~.
Rules Of Hygiene
Suggestions That May Save You Many
q Doctors Bill.
WISDOM FOR THE HOUSEHOLD
These Hints Don't Cost Much, Are Not
Copyrighted. and il They Don't DO
You Any Good, They'll Not
Do You Any Harm.

The agricultural department at
Washington is nearing the close of
long and very interesting series of in
vestigations in the adulteration of food
products in this country. The re-
searches have been encyclopedia in
their scope, and are intended to en-
brace all varieties of food staples. They
date back to 1887, and when completed
will form volume of ten chapters.
Eight of these have already been issued
in the form of department bulletins,
and the ninth is now being prepared
for the press and may be expected in
the course of a few weeks. In speaking
to q reporter recently on the subject
of adulterants In general, Professor
Wiley, who has the investigation In
hand, said: "The most of the adulter-
ants used are entirely harmless. but at
the same time entirely valueless for
food purposes. In other cases, such as
the substitution of cotton seed oil for
olive oil, they are right for food pur-
poses, but an imposition in point of
price; for we have gotten any number
of samples of olive oil at 81 a gallon
that was in reality an excellent quality
of cotton seed OIL that was worth be-
tween 20 and 40 cents. Similarly we
have found coffee selling at 40 cents
a pound containing % per cent of arti-
fetal coffee beans. These artificial
beans are not myths, as some people
suppose. If you like. / can show you
sample" The sample was in the
shape of brown roasted beans that
even on close examination could
hardly be told from the genuine
article. Mixed with two parts of real
beans, 1t would be almost impossible to
detect them. "Those are made of
scorched -four and molasses," said Pro-
fessor Wiley, "and they are worth
about cents pound. Or, rather.
they cost about that For coffee maxi
ing they are worth absolutely nothing
except to make the weak coffee muddy,
The only way to get good coffee is to
buy the good green beans and roast
them as they are needed Coffee roast
ed and kept loses the greater part of its
volatile aroma, except in the case of
some patent roasted coffees that are
coated with a thin soluble varnish that
keeps in the volatile substance. Cof
fee that Is bought ready ground and
roasted Is almost invariably worthless.
A dealer can have no earthly object In
grinding his coffee before he sells 1t ex-
cept to aid In adulteration. We have
gotten many samples of roasted and
ground coffee that did not have parti-
Gle of coffee in them and were made of
scorched rye and chicory. Now. cer-
tain amount of chcory in coffee Is not
Objectionable. The French prefer a
small amount, as It mixes well with the
milk. / like little chicory myself, for
the heavy, oily quality 1t gives the
coffee, but one does not want to pay 40
cents for coffee that Is made up half
of chlcory at cents a pound. The ar
tlcles Of food most commonly adulterat-
ed are spices. Everything from cay
enne pepper to cloves Is matched in
color by what they call 'fillers,' made
of the ground shells of various nuts.
When this finely ground material Is
mixed with the spice, no one In the
world without microscope could tell
the difference. There Is a regular
business of manufacturing these filters,
and we have set of them to match
any variety OF ground spice. They are
used In large quantities"
Take common starch and grind It
with a knife until It Is reduced to the
smoothest powder. put It In clean
tin box, 90 as to have It continually