123 



palatable with the finest, thus rendering it available for the food of man, 

 we think its use, under certain restrictions, might be very advantage- 

 ously allowed. 



But before quitting the subject there are other substances of a 

 mineral nature employed for the sophistication of bread, which demand 

 our attention for a few moments. The chief of these are sulphate of 

 copper, gypsum, carbonate of magnesia, and alkalies. On the continent 

 sulphate of copper is said to have been extensively used. Its action is 

 curious, inasmuch as a very minute proportion gives the flour the 

 properiy of retaining an enormous amount of moisture without the 

 bread becoming unduly soft. Thus one ounce added in solution to 

 enough dough to make fifty quartern loaves, is sufficient to augment 

 its weight 1-1 6th. A larger proportion than the jj^ gives an unplea- 

 sant smell to the bread. The use of this salt, in addition to defrauding 

 the public of 1-1 6th of the bread they pay for, makes the bread highly 

 injurious to health, and a continuance of such diet would, undoubtedly, 

 in a short time' produce alarming, if not serious consequences. For- 

 tunately its presence is very readily discovered ; the addition of a solu- 

 tion of ferrocyanide potassium to a decoction of bread will produce 

 a more or less reddish brown precipitate, if the minutest trace of 

 copper be present. 



For a very similar purpose sulphate of zinc has sometimes been em- 

 ployed ; its use is attended with equally dangerous results, aud it may be 

 detected by evaporating an infusion of bread to small bulk, filtering, 

 and adding an excess of ammonia and sulpliui'etted hydrogen ; if zinc 

 be present a white precipitate will fall. These very dangerous salts are 

 not used in this part of the country, for all the samples we examined 

 were perfectly free from both copper and zinc. 



Other means, however, are adopted in this country for accomplishing 

 a similar object ; thus, we have met with bread containing so much alkali 

 as to be extremely bitter aud caustic to the taste, and even offensively 

 alkaline to the smell, owing to the addition of potassa for the purpose 

 of increasing its power of retaining water. Lime water is often used 

 for a somewhat similar purpose, and its power is not unfreipently 

 augmented by carefully covering the bread, when drawn from the oven, 

 with a blanket to prevent the evaporation of moisture. Alkalies are 

 also used to neutralize the acidity of sour flour, for which purpose 

 there is no doubt that the carbonates of ammonia and magnesia are 

 often emplo5'ed. 



From our examination, chemical and microscopical, of bread, drawn 

 from all sources in this town, we conclude that other than wheat flour 

 is seldom used ; but this is frequently of very inferior quality, aud often 



