The Washington herald., 1913-10-12
CHEMISTS AID ENGLISH PUBLIC.

chemist has been called upon to examine
even the gold lace of military uniforms,
and the drugs and surgical dressings used
| used in the ambulance.
| But by far the greater part Of the ana
| iytical work OF the government chemist
/ Is placed In his hands by the customs and
excise officials and by the board of agri-
culture and fisheries. The investigations
have twofold aspect: partly to protect
the public against adulterated articles,
and partly to detect attempted evasions
] OF duty. Imported dairy produce Of all
I kinds comes under strict scrutiny
On the whole. the results may give the
| consumer confidence. Out of sos samples
| OF imported margarine examined during
| the year, all were found to be free from
paraftine wax, and. from butter fat ex-
ceeding the permissible proportion Of 10
per cent, and only five contained more
than the regulation is per cent OF water.
No fat other than milk fat was found in
any OF the sixty-fve samples of imported
cheese examined. OF 1,223 samples OF i'm
ported butter. 5e2 contained boron preser-
vative, and ninety-three additional col
| oring matter
Every consignment OF tea that IL
brought into the British Isles is exam
ined mt the port of entry by inspectors
who are charged with the task of ex-
Guiding everything that is not genuine.
doubtful samples, requiring a more COM
plete examination than they can give.
are sent on to the government Iabora-
tory.
During the last year sampIes rama
senting 1885 pounds were Condemned as
containing sand or other foreign mat
Ter, and 10, 49l pounds additional were
reported as unfit for human consurnp-
tlon. This seems a great deal but il is
insignificant in relation TO the total
amount of tea imported, namely 20 oOO :
uO OF pounds. Rejected tea is allowed
to be delivered, duty free, for use in the
manufacture OF caffeine or theme. ex-
tracted for service as drugs In sucb
cases It has first to be denatured. and
samples Of it go to the government
laboratory once more, to insure that
the process has been effectively carried
out All the samples Of coffee Tasted
l'0S in number, were found to be genu-
inc.
Examination of Beverages.
An especially interesting section deals
with beverages sold as 'nonaIcohoIi,,
cider Some OF them are mixtures of
real cider. with solutions OF sugar. and
contain less than per cent of proof
spirit But many OF them have no right
TO the name of cider at all, for thew
are entirely free from rermented annie
juice and consist simply of solutions
Of sugar that have been aerateI
Favored, and colored.
A more serious question is the nres
ence. in alleged temperance drinks Of
aIcohol exceeding the legal per cent.
limit Out of 25S samples examined
slNty-three contained from . to 3 per
cent, and fifteen from 3 to 5 per cent
whlle ten samples described as ginger
Deer or herb beer contained proof spirit
varying in amount from 81 to lis Der
cent. In some samples OF liqueur choco-
lates, the percentage of proof sniri+
feached as high figure as "A per cent.
The beer drinker owes a good deal 70
the vigilance of the government chenis.
samples TO the number of SIS were tested
last year for the presence Of arsenic. and
only sixteen Of these exceeded the legal
limit No deleterious or illegal substance
was detected in any of the ninety-ons
samples of finished beer from brewers
premises which were specially examined
as TO the presence OF saccharine, sapon-
inc, and such like substances
Many Samples Examined.
: For the purpose of checking diIution
and adulteration. s,453 samples were taken
from the premises OF 2,39S publicans and
other retailers. The beer was found TO
nave been diluted in 5a cases. the dilu
uon seldom exceeding three gallons Of
water 10 the barrel of thirty-six gallons
One especially interesting examination
was that of samples of trade rum, trade
sln' and other spirits taken from the
STOCKS OF importing firms in Southern
Nigeria and sent by the government Of
that colony for analysis by the govern
rent chemist at home II showed that
they were of practically the same quality
as similar articles sold in England.
The work done in analysis to prevent
the evasion of duty is too extensite IN
be even briefly sUmmariz
IL must be a pleasant change for the
government chemist to be able to turn
away sometimes from such detective work
IN order to make a scientific contribution
OF a positive nature During the last
year he has reported on a variety OF
Spartina grass that grows abundantly on
certain marshy and low-lying lands on
the Hampshire coast, and finds that its
composition compares favorably with that
Of the usual folders
Is it safe to grow potatoes on plots
that have been treated with copper fun
Sicides? The chemist has been investi-
eating on trial plots, and has found no
trace Of absorption of copper by the
tubers. In a laboratory whose problems
range from the detection of frauds in
family Bibles to the preservation of pota-
toes from fungus. life may be arduous,
but ii certainly can never be dull