i8 4 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



had already mentioned this shell as having been 

 found in our county ; and this species will, I believe, 

 be one of the last, if not the last, of our land and 

 freshwater Mollusca which we shall be able to add to 

 our list. At the same time, from recent experience I 

 shall not be surprised at anything which turns up 

 unexpectedly in natural history in any locality. 



John R. B. Masefield. 

 Rosehill, Cheadle, Staffordshire. 



COCOA AND ITS ADULTERATION. 



UNTIL lately perhaps there was hardly any 

 article of food which was so often adulterated 

 as cocoa, and for this there were excuses. The poor 

 liked their cocoa thick, while the large amount of oil, 

 which naturally exists in this vegetable product, com- 

 pelled the makers to add enormous quantities of 

 starch, sago, arrowroot and sugar, partly to satisfy 

 the vulgar demand, but still more to increase solu- 

 bility. To such lengths was adulteration carried 

 that it was actually found by Dr. Hassall that eight 

 only in fifty-four samples examined by him were 

 pure, while in a batch of sixty-three specimens thirty- 

 nine contained appreciable quantities of colouring 

 matters, brick-dust (though this is said to be a mis- 

 take) and peroxide of iron being among them ; and 

 Dr. Edmund Parkes, whose lightest word com- 

 manded respectful attention, rather comically 

 remarked that some of the so-called homoeopathic 

 cocoas were rightly named, for the amount of cocoa 

 they contained was so small. Whatever might be 

 said about starch and sugar, no defence of alkaline 

 additions can any longer be attempted. True, they 

 give an appearance of fictitious strength, much as 

 carbonate of soda seems to increase that of tea. But 

 now that — thanks to recent improvements — the whole 

 of the cocoa butter or oil can be easily expressed, and 

 indeed is expressed by the (best makers from their 

 finest brands, the addition of potash, soda, and other 

 foreign chemical substances is unjustifiable. It is not 

 often that scientific men agree on any point, but 

 there is wonderful unanimity among them as to the 

 importance of food and drink being as pure as 

 possible : that is, the makers should religiously avoid 

 all medications, flavours, and additions, which make 

 them other than they are naturally. Why should 

 cocoa, the wholesomest, best and most nutritious of 

 all the beverages prepared for ordinary use be spoilt, 

 for we cannot use any milder term, by the addition 

 of foreign matters ? Chocolate is confessedly a manu- 

 factured article, and, therefore, when only com- 

 pounded with sugar and pure flavouring ingredients 

 is not to be condemned. Our remarks apply wholly 

 to cocoas used as beverages, not to chocolate. 



In spite of the liking for thick drinks, the adultera- 

 tion of cocoa has greatly told on its consumption by 

 retarding the rate of increase. We are informed 



that eighteen million pounds, more or less, are now 

 manufactured in England ; why should not five times 

 that quantity be annually used ? The cocoa essences 

 by our best firms are conspicuous for their absolute 

 purity in all respects, and their freedom from all 

 additions of sugar, starch, colouring matters and 

 alkalies ; the last, indeed, are not wholly free from 

 danger and serious objection, for it is found that 

 even minute quantities, when taken regularly for a 

 long time, do marked injury : the appetite suffers, 

 the bodily and intellectual vigour is impaired, and 

 the general tone is lowered ; in short, the healthy 

 system is decidedly better without them. The real 

 friends of cocoa are those who, remembering what to 

 the sanitary reformer are elementary truths, do their 

 best to impress the lay public with the importance of 

 always using pure, unadulterated preparations. 



S. U. M. 



THE FOOD OF THE BIRDS. 

 By Rev. H. A. Macpherson, M.A., M.B.O.V., 



ETC. 



MR. PARKINSON'S observations on the food 

 of birds are so much to the point, that I 

 should like to endorse their general purport heartily. 

 As the present paper is entirely called forth by Mr. 

 Parkinson's article, I propose to follow his statements 

 consecutively. 



I. The nightingale subsists almost wholly, if not 

 entirely, on insects. The lesser whitethroat, 

 blackcap, and some other warblers are fond of 

 fruit ; but not, I think, the nightingale. It is 

 extremely fond of the larvce of the common wasp. * 



II. The titmice feed principally on insects, but 

 the crested and coal tits are partial to fir seeds. 

 The seeds of the common Sunflower are eaten 

 greedily by the great tit. The marsh tit (in 

 common with the goldfinch and linnet) is partial 

 to the seeds of the thistle family. I have seen 

 longtailed titmice feeding on " looper " caterpillars, 

 and Dr. Girtauner contributed to Dresser's "Birds of 

 Europe " a charming account of birds of this species, 

 which he fed in confinement on plant-lice. 



in. Greenfinches feed on the seeds of many so- 

 called weeds. On the other hand, I have seen them 

 gathering turnip seed almost as fast as it was sown, 

 such numbers being present as to be undoubtedly 

 injurious to the interest of the farmer. 



iv. Thrushes are also deadly enemies of garden 

 snails. 



V. All the warblers will take insects. I once 

 found a male blackcap full of ladybirds. The 

 thorough way in which this species will clear the 

 elder bushes of their berries in autumn is diverting. 

 Near Montreux, I have seen long rows of the bushes 

 thus treated. 



VI. The redbacked shrike certainly kills young 



