452 CAYENNE PEPPER. 



" Starke kommt iiberhaupt sehr spdhrlich vor, unci, wegen der ausserordent- 

 lichen Kleinheit der Kornchcn wircl sie leicht iibcrseken. Durch wasserige 

 Jodlosung wird sie rasch geblaut." 



Here we have once more the iodine test, which, unless the 

 original pepper were free from starch, would be meaningless. 

 Another remark of great importance occurs on the same page, 

 under the head of " Falschungen des Spanischen Pfeffers " : 



" Mehl, welcher Art immer, ebenso gepulvertes Brot oder Zwieback, ist 

 ohne wieiteres an den Starkekornern nachweisbar, da kein in Handel vorkom- 

 mendes Mehl so kleine Stdrkekdrnchen besitzt wie der Spanische Pfeffer. 

 Uberdies enthalt dieser die Starke in fast verschwindend geringer Rlenge, 

 so dass eine merkliche Blaufarbung des Pulvers durch Jod schon zu schlies- 

 sen erlaubt, dass ihm irem.de Starke beigemischt set." 



(M.) Referring to Cayenne pepper, Pearmain and Moor re- 

 mark {op. cit., p. 50): " The microscopic appearance is that of 

 a cellular structure enclosing occasional drops of oil, hut no 

 starch." 



(N.) Battershall does not mention starch at all in dealing 

 with Cayenne pepper. -Hassall also (op. cit., pp. 543 to 553) 

 deals at length with Cayenne pepper, but never once mentions 

 starch in that connection. 



The conclusion to be drawn from all these data is that genuine 

 unadulterated Cayenne pepper should certainly not contain any 

 appreciable quantity of starch visible through the microscope, 

 or capable of taking up colour from iodine solution. 



It would be absurd to suppose that, if starch were ever 

 plainly visible, the apparent differences of opinion among the 

 above quoted observers would exist, or that any expert ob- 

 server could have failed to recognise its presence. It is only 

 because the starch grains, if present at all, are so scanty — and 

 so extremely small into the bargain — that, as Moeller remarks, 

 they are easily overlooked, and that there can be any doubt as 

 to whether they do actually occur. It is, moreover, to be in- 

 ferred from the authorities above quoted that — as a careful 

 comparison of their definitions with their views on the presence 

 of starch will show — if starch exists, it is not in true Cayenne 

 pepper {Capsicum minimum, for instance), but only in Paprika 

 {Capsicum annuiim), and even then only scantily distributed 

 and exceedingly small in grain. 



We may then rightly infer that if we grow the plant from 

 which the true Cayenne pepper is made in South Africa, there 

 is a safe and sure method of distinguishing between the pro- 

 duct of that plant and the article known as Paprika. 



In the imported samples above mentioned as having con- 

 tained ginger, the starch grains were, to begin with, neither 

 small in size nor scanty in distribution. Samples were taken 

 for comparison with these from Southall's guaranteed Standard 

 Powders, specially prepared for the use of Public Analysts. 

 In genuine Cayenne pepper, of the class that is on all hands 

 accepted as such, namely, the ground product of Capsicum 

 7mnimum, I have not discovered any starch whatever, but in 

 ground Capsicum annuum, that is to say, paprika, starch grains 

 were observed by me, but in far smaller quantity than 10 per 

 cent. I should consider 1 per cent, an altogether outside limit. 



