THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



453 



logwood, sloes, red sanders, Brazil wood, alum, catechu, 

 &c. Such is our port wine. Mustard is adulterated 

 with turmeric, wheaten flour, cayenne pepper, and 

 ginger. We are oursLlves aware that mustard is 

 commonly sold at one price, whatever the qualily 

 may be ; but a discount is allowed off it, ranging 

 from 5 to 50 per cent., according to the quality. 

 Of 42 samples examined by Dr. Hassall, the whole 

 were adulterated, more or less, with turmeric and 

 wheat flour. Vinegar is made from sulphuric acid, or 

 mixed with it and other pernicious ingredients. In 

 some cases corrosive sublimate has been used. Pepper, 

 both cayenne and black, are largely adulterated. Out 

 of 28 samples of the former 24 were found impure, the 

 mixtures being red lead, Venetian red, red ochre, cin- 

 nabar, vermilion, ground rice, turmeric, and a rtd fer- 

 ruginous earth. The chemical officer of the Deptford 

 Victualling Office examined 1,116 samples of pepper, of 

 which 540 were genuine and 576 adulterated. All 

 spices and condiments are thus mixed with substances, 

 many of which are poisonous, and by being constantly 

 taken into the stomach, affect health, and thereby 

 shorten life. 



Raw or moist sugar is adulterated with flour and 

 sand ; refined or loaf and crystallized sugar, with alum, 

 sulphate of lead, lime, &c. But it is in confectionary 

 that the poisons of the most deadly character are freely 

 used — Chromate of lead, red lead, red oxide of ditto, 

 vermilion, cinnabar, ferruginous earths, indigo, Prus- 

 sian blue, cyanide of iron, sulphuret of sodium, Bruns- 

 wick greens, carbonate of copper, arsenite of copper, 

 &c. No check is placed upon the use of these delete- 

 rious substances, and thus poisoning by wholesale is 

 going on unchecked, especially among children, who, 

 attracted by the gay colours, purchase the sweets with 

 their holiday pence, and lay the foundation of diseases 

 which puzzle the medical men to account for their 

 origin. Dr. Lelheby says — " A case of poisoning 

 occurred at the London Hospital about two years ago : 

 about twenty people were poisoned by confectionary 

 which was sold by a Jew in the neighbourhood of Petti- 

 coat Lane. He had bought up the refuse stock of a 

 large city confectioner, and distributed it among the 

 people of that neighbourhood, and twenty-four of them 

 were poisoned by it. They were brought into hospital, 

 and emetics administered to them. The contents of 

 the stomach were sent to me to analyze, and I discovered 

 in them lead and arsenic ; and this was found, upon 

 inquiry, to be the cause. Every article of confectionary 

 in this country is poisoned in this way .'" 



We could go on and show from this book that the 

 same nefarious practice is carried into the manufacture 

 or preparation of almost (if not quite) all that we eat 

 or drink. Pickles, preserves, potted-meats, fish, and 

 sauces, milk, butter, cheese, drugs, and medicaments 

 of all kinds; arrow-root, lime juice, tobacco, snuff, 

 &c., are all alike doctored by the retailers before they 

 reach the public. But we have no room for further 

 particularizing, and must refer the reader to the shilling 

 volume before us, assuring them that they will find its 

 perusal deeply interesting and instructive. 



We cannot, however, close this notice without ex- 

 pressinfr our regret that the character of the British 

 tradesman has been sunk so low from the position it 

 formerly held, that for the sake of a little extra profit 

 so reckless a system of fraud should be resorted to by 

 so numerous a body of the trading community, as to 

 give it a general character, making honest trading the 

 exception, and dishonesty the rule, throughout every 

 department of dealing in the necessaries of life.. 



PROFESSOR WAY— ELECTRIC LIGHT. 



Wfi learn that the launch of the Great Eastern stejm-ahip, 

 which it is expected will take place early in the corning month, 

 will be effected under the brilliancy of the electric light, as far 

 aa the moving of this woudroua iron monster is done during 

 the night, and which must occupy a con3:derable portion of 

 the darker hours, seeing that it will require a period of at least 

 16 from the moment of her first leaving the upper stays or 

 cradle until she quietly rides in her future element. It is to be 

 presumed, therefore, that the commencement will be during the 

 night, and that her final glide into the river may be witnessed 

 by thousands in the clear light of day. The use of the elec- 

 tric light will therefore be of great moment in this important 

 operation, in which, it may be said, the whole nautical world 

 is interested. On the other hand, it will fully test the merits 

 of the various improvements made in this system of removing 

 darkness, for if the lights to be erected burn steadily and 

 brilliantly through the night they will meet the requirements 

 of the Trinity House as respects the illuminating power for 

 lighthouses. The brilliancy of the electric light has never been 

 questioned, and the great difticulty hitherto has been in secur- 

 ing density and steadiness. These points are overcome, we 

 are assured, by the application of mercury, instead of carbon, 

 and that a lunar light, pure, dense, steady, and continuous, is 

 now obtained. This, as we have already said, will now be fully 

 and publicly tested. The point to be determined is even of 

 more universal interest than the Great Eastern steam-ship it- 

 self; for, if what is represeuteJ is established beyond contro- 

 versy or dispute, a great national boon will be secured. 

 Nothing can be of greater value to this country than an effi- 

 cient and powerful light for the coast. Those now in use are 

 not sufficiently effective, and during fogs and severe weather 

 are frequently useless beyond the immediate precincts of the 

 lighthouses; whereas the new light— the mercurio-electric we 

 suppose it may be called — is unchangeable in colour, and its 

 penetrating powers in fog and thick weather are represented as 

 perfectly extraordinary. Little has been said or is known of 

 this new plan of overcoming the difficulties which carbon light 

 presented, but the discoverers have been persevering in their 

 trials and tests so as to make every point perfect before its 

 submission to public display. We understand that the dis- 

 covery is due to Professor Way, but that other gentlemen 

 identified with the prosecution of the question of electric light 

 have assisted in bringing the matter to its present state of 

 perfection. The test to which it is to he put is a bold one, and 

 is of itself an earnest of the sincerity of those who consider 

 it perfect for all useful purposes. We trust their efforts will 

 be crowned with success as brilliant as their own light, not 

 only on their account, but as a matter of national import and 

 interest. It will be a grand feature indeed in this extraordi- 

 nary feat of launching this monster ship. — Mining Journal. 



