WINES. 363 



From an examination of this table it will be seen that of the seventy 

 samples examined, eighteen, or over one-fourth, had received an ad- 

 dition of salicylic acid, and thirteen had been preserved by the use of 

 sulphurous acid, either as such, or in the shape of a sulphite. In two 

 cases both agents had been used. One of the samples which contained 

 salicylic acid and also one containing sulphites were among the sam- 

 ples exhibited at the meeting of the National Viticultural Convention 

 last year in Washington. 



The question of the propriety of the use of preservatives has been 

 very fully discussed in previous pages, and will not be further enlarged 

 upon here. 



Baumert found no salicylic acid in the samples examined by him, and 

 only traces of sulphurous acid. 



The examination of the samples for boracic acid gave such peculiar 

 results that I hesitate about pronouncing positively upon them until I 

 shall have had opportunity to investigate the matter more closely. The 

 test with turmeric paper gave slight traces present in all but two of the 

 thirty- six samples which were submitted to a complete analysis. With 

 only a very few, however, could any test be obtained with the alcohol 

 flame. Baumert obtained the same test in everyone of the samples he ex- 

 amined. He seeks to account for this by the fact that plants have been 

 known to assimilate boracic acid from the soil, and knowing that in some 

 parts of California the soil contains considerable quantities of borax, he 

 offers it as an explanation that it was taken up by the vine from the soil. 

 This explanation seems hardly tenable, and in view of the fact that sonic 

 of the samples I examined came from various parts of the country other 

 than California, must be thrown aside as insufficient. It is a singular 

 fact that both of the samples in which I failed to get the test, Nos. 5087 

 and 5102 were Catawba wines. 



I can offer no explanation of the matter except the suspicion, which 

 I hope to be able to investigate, that the trouble lies with the test. 



ARTIFICIAL WINES. 



No test for free tartaric acid .was obtained with any of the samples, 

 which would seem to indicate that none of the wines were artificial 

 wines, in the make-up of which free tartaric acid is very apt to figure. 



COLORING MATTERS. 



All of the samples of red, wines, about forty, were submitted to a search 

 for aniline coloring matters, which resulted in the demonstration that 

 one sample out of the forty, No. 4996, was colored with an aniline dye- 

 stuff, probably fuchsine. 



Baumert found one of his eight samples to be colored artificially with 

 an aniline dye. 



No search was made for foreign vegetable coloring matters. 



