824 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



Vegetable Products. 



The most important items under this heading were the jams, 

 jellies and pulps, collected and sent in by officers responsible for the 

 inspection of this class of export products. The jams, which were 

 taken by Dr. Brown from the stock of seven of the largest manu- 

 facturing firms in Melbourne, were subjected to a comprehensive 

 chemical and micro-chemical analysis. In addition to the determin- 

 ation given below, tests for the presence of preservatives, artificial 

 sweetening materials and colouring matters, were also carried out. 

 In the case of three firms, there were two brands of the fruit product 

 sent in, corresponding to first and second quality. In the case of the 

 second quality, the label on the tin in most cases bore in prominent 

 letters the name of one particular fruit, and beneath this, in small and 

 inconspicuous characters the words " and other pure fruits," which 

 were not specified. This appeared to indicate that the intention of 

 the manufacturer was to convey the idea that the quality had not been 

 decided by the use of an inferior sample of the main fruit, supposed 

 to form the bulk, but had secured the designation of the lower grade 

 through not being composed entirely of the one fruit. The use of 

 small letters can however only be regarded as misleading ; and it 

 should be made compulsory to state on the label the name of the 

 fruit or fruits added. The (|uality also, apart from a particular brand, 

 should be stated. Micro-chemical analysis revealed the fact that in 

 some instances, the bulk of the material was by no means composed of 

 the fruit bearing the prominent letters on the label, but that this in 

 cases formed a small portion ; and that the main body was made up of 

 admixtui'es. Certain chemical reactions also suggested that the fruits 

 forming this admixture were, in cases, of an inferior quality. The 

 samples which were classed by the collecting officer as first quality 

 jams, were of a high standai'd and free from such defects. A chemical 

 analysis of 188 satnples gave the following results : — 



