FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 63 



his brains with his hands, and in just proportion his occupation is 

 advancing to the dignity of a profession. His very vocabulary is chang- 

 ing and he now speaks of protein and carbohydrates instead of the light 

 and the dark of the moon. And this same training in keenness of induc- 

 tion and deduction he is carrying into his relations with his fellowmen, 

 and they are begi^ining to respect the strength of his logic and the 

 shrewdness of his conclusions. 



I am not claiming too much when I say that the Agricultural College 

 stands for and explains this whole movement, and is true to its largest 

 purpose in proportion to the thoroughness and success of its effort to 

 infuse its scientific spirit into all agriculture. 



FOOD ADULTERATIONS. 



W. L. ROSSMAN, STATE ANALYST. 



That the kind and quality of food exerts a marked influence on the 

 health of the consumer, cannot be denied. There is nothing more inti- 

 mately connected with good health, than pure food; and yet the health 

 of the people, so far as the food consumed is concerned, has been in the 

 hands of the manufacturer of food products and has been colored, coated, 

 polished and drugged so long, that there is little left of that rugged 

 health that characterized the consumer of natural food. 



Your products are put upon the market as produced by nature, and are 

 pure. The price you receive is controlled largely by competition with 

 impure articles, or substitutes. The impure article is sold at the cost of 

 production of the pure article, leaving, then, a handsome margin of profit 

 for the adulterator; thus striking a double blow at you, who are both 

 producer and consumer. 



The importance of protecting the public against fraud in the manufac- 

 ture and sale of articles of food, has been recognized in nearly every 

 country of Europe, by the passage of stringent laws to prevent fraud and 

 deception in the manufacture and sale of food products. In our own 

 country, among the states having food laws, are New York, Pennsyl- 

 vania, New Jersey, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. 



In this State, a law was passed as early as 1871, to prevent the sale of 

 adulterated milk. From that time until 1893, laws were passed at nearly 

 every session of the Legislature, regulating the sale of specific articles; 

 but they were practically dead letters, as there was no one to see that 

 they were enforced. In 1893 a law was passed providing for the appoint- 

 ment of a Dairy and Food Commissioner, but as there was appropriated 

 only one thousand dollars for carrying on the work, the Commissioner 

 was practically without means of enforcing the law. 



It was not until 1895 that the general food law, under which the 

 Department is now working, was passed. 



