The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1898-09-02

come stale the gills assume a pinkish |
hue, and the eyes become whitish and |
opaque. and they remain so, no matter |
how often the fish dealer douches them |
with water to give them an appear
ance Of freshness. A lobster that has |
been boiled after death can readily be |
detected by pulling the tail out
straight, as the tail will then remain
outstretched or curve inward again
very slowly; whereas, II the lobster
was boiled while alive the tail will
spring quickly back into place.
PURE SUGAR.
The chief foreign ingredient In adul-
terated sugar, nowadays, Is starch; to
detect its presence a drop Of tincture
of iodine in teaspoonful Of water APP
Piled to the suspected sugar will cause
blue color to appear II starch or -four
Is mixed with the sugar. This test can
be successfully used with any sub
stance in which starch appears as an
adulterant. To detect sand or other
adulterant that Is not soluble, dissolve
a tablespoonful Of sugar in a bottle
| containing four or six ounces of water.
Allow 1t to stand "a hours, and the sed-
iment, II any, which falls to the bot
tom OF the bottle, will show the char
acter of the adulterant. II there is
sand the sediment will feel gritty to
the touch; II there Is carbonate of lime
1t will give of bubbles OF gas when
a few drops Of vinegar are added, and
the sediment Is moved.
WINES AND BEER.
| A drop Of artificially colored wine let
fall into a tumbler of cold water will
rapidly impart its color to the water;
genuine wine does not do this so rapid
| ly. Another test is to moisten the fin
gers with wine and rub them briskly
together, II the wine Is artifcially
colored, the fingers will be stained, II
genuine they will not. The bitter taste
of beer is often initiated in authorizations
by an infusion of picric acid. To detect
this, heat cup of beer, made acid by
adding a few drops Of vinegar. While
it is still warm, immerse in 1t few
strands of white wool yarn, and II pic
ric acid is present the wool will be
dyed yellow.
MILK TESTS.
A quick test of milk Is to mix it well,
and then pour 1t from a glass. Pure
unadultered milk will leave a thick
coating on the inside of the glass, while
watered or SKINNED milk will run out
clearly. Good milk should contain 1:
to Is per cent. of cream, and the per-
centage of cream can be estimated in
this way: Take long, narrow bottle
with Il capacity of six or eight ounces
Paste on the outside strip Of paper
half an inch wide, running from the
neck to the bottom Of the bottle; divide
this trip by pencil marks into 10 equal
parts; fill the bottle to the five mark
with milk, and then to the top of the
paper with water at heat which will
lust allow the hand to be inserted with.
out causing pain, and to which as much
soda has been added as would cover
the end of a penknife. Shake well tC
mix thoroughly, and place in an ice
box. In half an hour observe how
much cream has risen, and measure
this off on piece Of paper; double thi:
distance and then see what part of the
total length of the paper strip on the
bottle this is. If 1t is one-twentieth
the milk only contains 8 per cent. Of
: cream, IL one tenth, then it contains II
per cent, If one-fifth, then 1t contains
: 20 per cent, and SO on.
TESTING WATER.
A sure safeguard against Ill effect!
from contaminated water, and especi
ally useful in the country or at sum
mer resorts, is the addition Of fiv'
drops Of peroxide Of hydrogen to thu
water a few minutes before drinkin,
= it. The liquid is obtainable at an!
drug store, is absolutely harmless
u tasteless and colorless. Its addition t
I the water only breaks it up into activ
oxygen and water, the former killing
!, whatever germs Of disease may be pre-
: sent in the water. This method !
equally efficacious and much more con
: venient than the ordinary way of boil
ing suspected water to destroy possibl
germs. II few drops of solution @
sugar are placed in glass Of suspect
ed water and the glass is covered an
l. put in warm place, the water, II
ia contaminated will become cloud