The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-12-03
CORN MEAL, CORN FLOUR AND
ADULTERANIS

The South Carolina, Virginia n
Georgia papers have editorials on the
mixed four and some are instructive
ProfessorAlexander writes a letter to the
Atlanta Constitution as to authorizations
OF flour. He Is Of the Georgia state
board of health. He says there are
ad~ulterations. They are not confined
In -four, but milk, baking powders, vim
&gars, olersargarine. Professor John
McCandless is a chemist of repute. He
has been investigating the flour adul-
Iteration. His report is not without
general interest. He says he has
many samples OF flour obtained in the
open market" and has failed to find
any mineral adulterant in any Of
chem" The result was very difficult
in the instance Of adulteration with
corn flour. Concerning the high price
OF wheat and the relative low price of
corn. the temptation to use this adul-
eerant is evident, as corn flour can be
bought for less than a cent a pound
and a pound OF good wheat flour Is
woth about three cents" even a small
percentage of the adulterant affording
a good profit. So it is cheaper corn
that is used to make wheat flour.
Professor McCandless used the micro
scope. With it he could detect corn
starch. He says he has not reported
the names of all brands found to be
aduIterated, because some of them are
sacked and branded by our Atlanta
merchants who may be in ignorance of
the character of the hour they are
sacking and also because the proposed
law forbidding such adulteration has
not yet been enacted"
He made a close analysis Of two we'll
known brands in the market, and
names them as they knew If they
have used adulterants. He found corn
I'm Billiards. Obelisk and none in Pills
bury's Best. He enters into a state
ment at length, but we take this only:
eff a man were obliged to live wholly
on the adulterated or the undulterated
-four, he would live longer and better on
on the latter than the former, because
the narrow nutritive ratio of the Pills
bury is more normal than the wide nu-
tritive ratio Of the Obelisk.
"But as the greater part of our peO-
pie, unless in abject poverty, get all the
protein they need to build blood and
muscle out of meat phsiologically
speaking, the adulterated flour is just
as good and more economical than the
other. 1t used to be considered that
starch of corn meal was not so diges-
tible as that of wheat, but the very re-
cent researches of Stone show that corn
starch is dissolved and converted into
sugar quicker than wheat starch, by
the saliva, while in the pancreatic
fluids, corn starch was converted and
wheat remained unchanged.
'"TheSe more recent results Of science
,corroborate the evidence of experience"
This is really instructive. The crime
is not injuring the health then by adul-
terations, but selling as wheat flour a
product composed of both wheat and
corn. Professor McCandless has
some of the corn lou used for adul-
feratio and he says it "is very finely
ground is beautifully white and to
the unaided eye resembles flour very
closely" He publishes an analysis
of the corr -four and corn meal. He
says it will not damage health but is
" a fraud on our pockets" There will
be no harm but benefit done perhaps
to have the fine corn flour introduced,
or the mixed wheat flour, but let law
compel the right branding. Corn is in
deed a most important staff Of life.
The negroes on the plantations prior
to freedom always preferred c~ornbread,
underground, with the bacon and
greens or hog and hominy to white
folks bread" 1t a a greater staying
quality and they knew it by experience.