MERCHANDISE MARKS ACTS. 



41 



>r, sale, or any purpose of trade of manufacture" any such goods. 

 ie expression " trade description" as defined by the act means 



iy description, statement, or other indication, direct or indirect, 

 as to the number, quantity, measure, gauge, or weight of any 

 >ods, or (6) as to the place or country in which any goods were 

 tade or produced, or (c) as to the mode of manufacturing or pro- 

 icing any goods, or (d) as to the material of which any goods are 

 imposed, or * * *." 

 These brief quotations from the merchandise marks act, 1887, show 



once their applicability to the sale of food and drugs acts, and 



tese principles have been used in the prosecution of manufacturers 



id dealers guilty of misbranding of their wares. The term " false 



ide descriptions" is also described in the act to apply to the use of 



iy false or fictitious name. As illustrative of the skillful method 



?ed in handling certain types of trade descriptions, namely, those 



[here foreign names are used, the whole of section 18 is here given: 



18. Where, at the passing of this act, a trade description is lawfully and generally 



^plied to goods of a particular class, or manufactured by a particular method, to 



licate the particular class or method of manufacture of such goods, the provisions 



this act with respect to false trade descriptions shall not apply to such trade descrip- 



>n when so applied: Provided, That where such trade description includes the 



tine of a place or country, and is calculated to mislead as to the place or country 



;re the goods to which it is applied were actually made or produced, and the 



Is are not actually made or produced in that place or country, this section shall 



apply unless there is added to the trade description, immediately before or after 



name of that place or country, in an equally conspicuous manner, with that 



ie, the name of the place or country in which the goods were actually made or 



iuced, with a statement that they were made or produced there. 



An application of the principle here laid down appears on page 20 

 this bulletin, wherein is given the rule for labeling port and sherry 

 tes produced in other countries than Portugal or Spain. 

 The merchandise marks act, 1887, was amended in 1891 and again 

 1894, but 'the amendments are more commonly in connection with 

 ie administrative features of the 1887 act. 



That the merchandise marks act may be of service in protecting 

 ie public against food which has been misbranded is shown by 

 ie work of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, which has its 

 iforcement in hand as regards agricultural produce. Reference, for 

 :ample, may be made to a prosecution brought at the instance of 

 ie Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland, 

 firm of provision merchants were successfully prosecuted for selling 

 "Irish" bacon a product of American origin. This department 

 has an inspector established in Great Britain to protect the 

 [terests of the Irish agricultural products. This step was taken 

 :ause it appeared that the Irish trade had suffered materially 

 sause of frauds which had been practiced. This action of the 



