The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-07-29

except that 1t was the best the market
could afford, and that twas we'll cooked.
IN fact. for the first twenty days there
was no II sign Il that there was anything
wrong. At the end Of that time, however,
the boarders begun to lose their appe-
titles. Every one had headaches. pains
lin h the stomach, nausen and vomiting.
The symptoms wero the Same through
out; and there was no doubt but that the
lborax was tho cause Of tho trouble
These experiments were made over ana ana
over again They were continued for a
year, and then DIR, Wiley published his
first report. This contained 600 closely-
printed pages. It gave the full story Of
the experiments and all the deductions
therefroln 1T was conclusive as = 70 the
Injury done by these food prcse ryntlyes,
land 1t created q great cutlery from ]. the nc
pa kers and food adulterators. Since then
Y these men have sworn war against such
BY the Agricultural Depart
lment. They have attempted to stop them,
land it@is now a. question as to Wietl1er
(, they have not succeeded. N n.
Other Poisons We Daily Eat.
Before i give my talk with Or. Wiley,
want to mention the work OF the other
three years at this experimental boarding
house, the results Of which have not been
! published. After finishing with the borax
an investigation was made as to salicylic
acid q foreign su bstance which IS put
into beers, wines and unfermented grape
juice and which is also largely used In
soda water syrups. Then an experiment
was made as to sulphurous acid and its
salts, which are employed Sin drying ana
evapornting fruits for the markets. g ana
after that bcnzoic acid was taken up ana
{NyYV nn q a.
termlned. s5
Among the last experiments were those
with formaldehyde. This stuff Is put into
milk and cream to keep It fresh, and Il
is also sometimes used as @ dlslnfectant,
Its fumes killing bed bugs and other In
SCOTS Then other experiments, were made
!, ,as to foods treated with sulphite OF cop
per, the stuff known as vltrio, which
we consider among the most olsonous of
drugs. II Is nntiseptic and germi-
eide, and is sometimes used as q 5caustio
to burn out on ulcer or to touch up tho
canker sores IN ones mouth. You would
not think q man would dare TO put It into
his stomach. Nevertheless the Agricul-
tural Department finds that 1t Is
sprInl1ed on pickles to give them fresh
green look, and also on canned green
peas and beans. si3 III ts5
A Word About the Tests.
During my stay In tho department I
saw something OF the work done In MAX
Ing these tests. Tho records show the
condition OF each boarder for every day
Of the year aud an account of almost
every atom Of food or drink no took dur
Ing that time. Every mans diet was
weighed. and measured, and the chemists
1 knew to n gram just what each nto. This
was so not only as to meat and bread.
but as to puddings and sauces. Blanks
were filled out ut tho close Of the meals,
stating what each had eaten, and every
man was weighed at regular Intervals and
his feelings recorded. From these reports
the chemists have made scientific deluc-
tons. They have analyzed the foods
again and again. and their calculations
havo covered enough closely printed
manuscript to MI q freight car. u
In my talk with DR.. Wiley ! asked him
some questions about borax, He replied;
''Borax ana boracic acid are used large
~ by the packers III curing hams. bacon
and corned beef They are cheap pre-
| scrvatlves. but are not at all necessary.
as the meats can be cured in other ways
| without them, All OF such meats sold
TO the United States Army and all ex-
| ported to Germany are FREQ from such
| ingredients, The Germans will not admit
aud the War Department rejects them,
Borax is also used largely for curing
fish. and II Ii common in connection
| with our Goldfish l3oracic acid is EN-,
ployed in milk and cream, and. in fact,
these articles are found In many other
things"
A Word About Acids.
TEL me something about the differ
ent acids (Which are used az food pro-
servauyesf"
There are many kinds" replied the
4 Agricultural! chemist, land we have tested
most OF them. Our first experiments were
With sallcylic acid. This is employed
chislly IN foods which are liquid or sem,-
liquid. II Is used In canned vegetables