Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1908-04-16
NE HAVE BEEN
EATING COPPER
Comes Forward With
Proof That Oysters Are I'M
pregnated with Red Metal.

The waning oyster season is mara
ed by an interesting scientific dis
eovery which informs eaters of the
delicious bivalYe that with every
oyster they eat a small portion Of
copper. This Interesting discovery of
the chemist which is considered to be
particularly of interest to oyster eat
ers in the copper country is called to
the attention OF the public by Prof
o. p Hood Of the Michigan College of
Mines
The discovery is made by Prof. J. T.
Willard, a chemist connected with the
Kansas State Board Of Health and an
old friend of Prof. Hood, TO whom lie
has sent q pamphlet covering his. re-
searches. Prof. Willard was commits
stoned to make researches into the
marketing of oysters in order .that the
board of health might arrive at some
definite legal regulation of the traffic
particularly with regard to the com
mon practice of shipping oysters in
water.
Prof Willard last year secured belI
samples OF oysters and analyzed them
He found a trace of copper in each
analysis. Thinking that the copper
might have come from" the containing
vessels he waited till the present oys-
ter season and secured new samples
from all the principal oyster produc-
ing points along the Atlantic coast, 80
samples in ALL In each he found cop
per and is compelled to the belief that
| copper is a normal constituent of
every healthy oyster because these
last samples did not come into con-
tact with copper in any form in col
! lecting, transportation or in the lab
oTatcry.
The pamphlet containing his report
was turned over to the Gazette by
Prof. Hood and from it the following
1 extracts are taken:
In the determination Cf copper the
meats and liquors were separately
/ treated in a number Of cases, but in
most Of the later analyses a sample
was taken designed to represent rne
Z whole The analysis was made by
! Gigesting fifty grams of the sample
/ with concentrated sulphuric acid as
! for tae. determination OF nitrogen by
| the Kieldah method care being taken
not 20 use a large excess Of acid be
4 yond that necessary for the oxidation
of the organic matter. The copper
was precipitated elecTolytically in
/ the clear and diluted solution. No
I trouble was experienced by this meth
/ cd except some foaming at the begin
4 ming OF the digestion, but this was
/ readily controlled by adding little
1 paraffiE.
Recurring now to the question OF
/ copper. in oysters. it will be seen from
the table that all the samples con
! tanned copper in quantity sufficient
I for its determination, and that the
amounts varied greatly. None OF
/ these show as high a percentage as
/ that found in one reported upon last
1 June. viz. OBJ per cent Of the dry
] substance Of the meat. In the thirty
! four samples included in the present
/ repoTt the minimum amount Of COD
1 per found. calculated on the dry sol
/ IDS. was 0.004 per cent the maximum
Twas OH per cent, and the avera g
lO.05 per cent. II is also interesting
| to note that both the maximum aDt
! the minimum were found In Lynn
fhaven" oysters. but it must also not
be forgotten that ewing to the un
1 certainty of dealers we may not b.
| sure that oysters called 'Lynnhaven'
| really are from that locality.
It may be recalled that in a previ
Gus report it was recorded that ,Oppoi
/ had been introduced IN some way in
the process. From tue date nov a.
hand, however. it seems safe to con
clude that copper Is a normal constii