LXXIV THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
increased interest awakened throughout the country, in the working 
of the Act. People in the smaller towns and villages realize that the 
inspection of food is an actual fact; and they become desirous of know- 
ing more about it. 
While it is undoubtedly true that the public is in general sympathy 
with the ol jects of the Adulteration Act, it would perhaps be too 
much to say that it is in intelligent sympathy with these objects. 
The distinction is easily appreciable, and implies no discredit to 
the good sense of the public. The fact is that certain technicalities must 
be mastered, and certain special information be popularized in order to 
a proper understanding of the subject with which the Act deals. Leav- 
ing out of consideration, for the present, such modes of adulteration as 
are dangerous to health, and confining ourselves to that class of adult- 
erants which merely lowers the quality of the article sold, we have 
several phases of this question to consider. 
In the first place, chicory may be added to coffee, flour to mustard, 
starch to cocoa, &c., in order to please the palate of the purchaser, and 
not solely with a view to cheapening the goods. The public must not 
be prevented from purchasing such goods; nor must the dealer be 
punished for selling them. Coffee is not adulterated by the fact of 
admixture with chicory; but only when the admixture is not acknow- 
ledged. It is of great importance that the consumer as well as the 
manufacturer should be convinced of the intention of the Government 
to have the Act enforced with perfect fairness to all parties, and in 
perfect good faith. Another popular mistake which requires correction 
is the supposition that an acknowledgment of genuineness, is a 
guarantee of market value. 
Coffee, tea, wine, vinegar, &c., may be specifically true to name, 
and therefore genuine in the sense of their being unmixed with foreign 
matter, and yet may differ very widely in quality and consequently 
in market value. We are compelled to recognize what we may call 
Commercial purity as contrasted with Chemical purity. Pepper 
necessarily contains mineral matter; butter contains water; common 
salt is not pure chloride of sodium; but pepper need not contain 15 per 
cent. of mineral matter, nor need butter contain 20 per cent. of water. 
Definite standards or limits must be established. It is right that manu- 
facturers should be heard in this matter; and they must be made to feel 
that no unreasonable or unfair demands will be made as regards degree 
of purity. | 
When we come to the other aspect of adulteration viz:—the 
presence of unwholesome, or dangerous admixtures, we find ourselves 
face to face with very serious difficulty. There is undoubtedly, a point 
below which even lead or arsenic ceases to be a poison. This must be 
acknowledged and defined. Nothing is gained by misrepresentation. 
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