REPORT OF THE CHEMIST. 299 



fore grinding tlie seed. The percentage of this oil is over 30. It adds 

 nothing to the flavor of the mustard, probably injures its keeping 

 qualities, makes the seed more difficult to mill, and its removal is 

 therefore a benefit. It is a nearly imiversal custom at the present day 

 in thiscountry and is not considered as fraudulent by the Canadian 

 analysts. 



Falsifications of mustard other than those mentioned are not com- 

 mon. The hulls, bolted from the flour in the process of manufacture, 

 are preserved, and form the basis of the adulteration of many other 

 spices. 



PEPPER — BLACK AND WHITE. 



Pepper is more in demand than any other spice, and in consequence 

 is more adulterated. Its appearance in the ground form, especially 

 of the black, is such as to make it possible to use all sorts of refuse 

 for this purpose, and almost everything that has been used as an adul- 

 terant has been found in pepper. White pepper, which is simply the 

 black deprived of its outer black coats, is of course less easily falsified, 

 but in France is diluted to an immense extent with ground olive 

 stones, which bear a striking resemblance. Among the samples from 

 Washington grocers, pepper sweepings — that is, husks and dirt, rice, 

 cayenne, yellow corn and mustard hulls — were the commonest ad- 

 mixture. Sand is said to be very commonly added abroad, but has 

 not been met with here. 



In Canada and New York ground cocoanut shells are a cheap source 

 of adulteration, but they have not extended so far South. 



The quality of a ground pepper can be told by an expert from its 

 weight and an examination with a lens of low magnifying power. 

 The particles are not coarsely ground and it is not difficult to pick 

 out pieces of husk, shells, and rice, and, if necessary, a more careful 

 investigation under a microscope of higher power will serve for con- 

 firmation. Black peppers, in our experience, are much more liable to 

 adulteration than white, although it is perfectly easy to dilute the lat- 

 ter with broken rice, corn, or beans, which are inexpensive. All these 

 materials fortunately, owing to the grossness of the adulteration, are 

 readily recognized, and there is hardly the necessity for recourse to 

 chemical analysis. There has been, however, considerable investiga- 

 tion in this direction, so that there are means of confirming the optical 

 examination which are of great value. Determination of the amount 

 of starch is one of the methods which is in use, for if under the 

 microscope foreign starch is not detected, then the addition of P. D. 

 or other starch-free adulterants will diminish the percentage found. 

 In this way, too, one is able to arrive at an approximate conclusion 

 as to the proportion of adulterant added, which can only be estimated 

 within wide limits under the microscope. In spite of the immense 

 amount of adulteration it is possible from the best shops to obtain 

 pure ground peppers, but it is at the same time safer, with a family 

 spice-mill, to grind the whole berries as they are needed. The sources 

 of our pepper supply are Tellicherry, on the west coast of Hindostan, 

 which IS graded high, and Penang and Singapore for the East, Suma- 

 tra, Java, &c. The importations are principally through London, 

 and not direct. The supply of ground pepper from England will 

 usually be found more pure than our own brands and at the same 

 time is naturally more expensive. 



