No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 663 



essary, not only for the proper preservation of the products of the 

 larm, but also for the converting of these products into a variety of 

 articles of food ready for use. Even the products of foreign lands 

 were prepared for use at the home. For example, spices were 

 home-ground and coffees home-roasted. With the advance of civiliza- 

 tion and the specialization of industries the preparation of our foods 

 has gradually passed out of the home and i*ito the hands of manu- 

 facturers. \Yhile this change has brought with it many comforts, 

 and has rendered home life less burdensome and more enjoyable, it 

 has also robbed us of that sense of security in the purity and cleanli- 

 ness of our foods which was so greatly appreciated and highly prized 

 by our grand parents. Because of our lack of knowledge of former 

 methods and standards of excelletice, as well as the various pro- 

 cesses now employed by manufacturers, we are no longer capable of 

 judging whether an article of food is pure or adulterated. 



(2) WHY WE HAVE PURE FOOD LAWS. 



Manufacturers of articles of food pursue their vocation for profit 

 and are guided solely by business principles. Under the strong com- 

 petition which now exists the problem that especially concerns them 

 is to produce an article acceptable to the public at as little cost as 

 possible, and to the solution of this problem they devote their ener- 

 gies. The greater the demand for the products of their factories and 

 the cheaper the cost of production, the greater are their profits. 

 Whether the article is pure or whether it is what the name implies 

 is oftentimes a matter of little or no consequence provided it is sale- 

 able and acceptable to purchasers. Consequently oleomargarine is 

 found in the market as butter, a mixture of cottonseed oil and tallow 

 as lard; glucose syrup is made to take the oame of honey, cotton- 

 seed oil is called olive oil, and milk thickened with glue passes for 

 cream, Similar adulterations or substitutions might be named in a 

 large variety of food products. All gradations of mixing, adulterat- 

 ing and beautifying are practised by manufacturers until in many 

 cases the finished article bears no resemblance to the old fashioned 

 home product of days gooe by. To make an article saleable and to 

 make it at little cost are the keynotes to success. 



The above statement must not, however, be taken as universally 

 true. Most reputable manufacturers cater to the best class of trade 

 and put upon the market articles of a high standard of purity and 

 excellence. But these same manufacturers under assumed names 

 send out from their factories inferior articles of varying degrees of 

 impurity to meet the varying demands of competition that exists in 

 all classes of trade. 



The various preparations of cocoa have in the past offered a rich 



