THE AMERICAN 



MONTHLY 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL 



Vol. III. 



New Yokk, Januakt, 1882. 



No. 1. 



The Detection of Adulteration 

 in Food. 



BY C. M. VORCE, F. R. M. S. 



V. — Red-Pepper and Turmeric. 

 Next to black-pepper, red-pepper, 

 usually called Cayenne pepper, seems 

 to naturally deserve attention. This 

 substance, which, from its name, many 

 people suppose to be derived from a 

 variety of the same plant which fur- 

 nishes black-pepper, is the ground pod 

 and seeds of a plant almost exactly 

 similar in microscopical character- 

 istics to the common, large red-pepper 

 of our gardens, so extensively used 

 for pickling. The commercial Cay- 

 enne pepper is chiefly prepared from 

 the pods of the Capsicum a/inuum, 

 although some other varieties of cap- 

 sicum are occasionally used. 



Pursuing with this, the plan adopt- 

 ed with other substances, we procure 

 some of theunground, dry pods which 

 we find to be thin, bright-red, conical 

 pods with a slight oily feeling, divi- 

 ded lengthwise by a thin septum, 

 usually into two, occasionally three, 

 compartments, in each of which is a 

 double row of flat, hard seeds over- 

 lapping each other like shingles. The 

 pod of an especially fine sample of 

 imported capsicum is shown in sec- 

 tion, natural size, in fig. i, plate I, 

 and the seeds, also natural size, in 

 fig. 2 a. The pod and seeds are ex- 

 tremely pungent and stinging to the 

 tongue and the slightest touch will 

 leave a taste for several minutes. The 

 outside of the pod is smooth and shin- 

 ing to the eye, but the inner surface 

 is covered with minute, short ridges, 

 which instantly bring to mind the 

 appearance of a very highly magni- 



fied podura scale. The appearance 

 of this inner surface under a pocket 

 magnifier, is shown in fig. 3, and that 

 of the cut edge of the pod at a fig. 3. On 

 examining a piece of the pod with an 

 inch-objective, viewing it as an opaque 

 object, the outer surface is seen to be 

 smooth and glossy, composed of cells 

 quite uniform in size, mostly quad- 

 rangular and (arranged in longitudi- 

 nal rows, irregular in places, but usu- 

 ally quite regular and resembling 

 brickwork (fig. 4). The inner sur- 

 face, which shows the ridges above 

 referred to, is composed of very ir- 

 regular cells, quite uniform in size, 

 but with very sinuous outlines (fig. 5). 

 The dividing walls of the cells ap- 

 pear sunken. On examining a por- 

 tion of the pod in water by transmit- 

 ted light, every cell appears filled 

 with oil (fig. 6), and numerous min- 

 ute drops of yellow oil are seen float- 

 ing in the water (fig. 6 b). By a half- 

 inch objective (of wide angle) the 

 cells have the appearance of crowded 

 oily drops (fig. 7). The true size and 

 shape of the cells are not easily made 

 out in this condition. Bands of spi- 

 ral vessels, somewhat branched, but 

 having a general longitudinal direc- 

 tion are seen in the substance of the 

 pod (fig. 8). 



On adding alcohol to the specimen 

 under examination, most of the oil is 

 dissolved, but it does not render the 

 substance sufficiently transparent to 

 clearly show the cells of the pod. In 

 some places the cells of the surface 

 show the contents reduced to a small 

 central drop (fig. 4, lower part); this 

 drop will not dissolve in alcohol even 

 when heated, but by withdrawing the 

 alcohol, and adding potash-solution 



