150 FOODS AND FOOD ADULTERANTS. 



of adulterants, and the results of our examination of published methods 

 and our own work are presented in the following pages, giving to the 

 analyst a large amount of technical and scientific information which is 

 of less interest to the general reader. 



PART II. 



I 



THE DETECTION OF ADULTERATION OF SPICES AND CONDIMENTS. 



In attempting to detect the adulteration of spices and condiments 

 the methods which can be employed are of three kinds and depend 

 upon the differences in structure between the adulterants and the sub- 

 stances to which they are added, and upon their proximate composi- 

 tion. The former differences are recognized by mechanical separation 

 and the use of the microscope and the latter by chemical analysis. In 

 the use of the microscope a knowledge of and ability to recognize the 

 principal tissues which constitute the particular plant parts which are 

 used as spices and also of those used as adulterants is necessary, while 

 in the chemical examination the principles of proximate analysis must 

 be understood and applied. 



It is as necessary that the analyst should be thoroughly acquainted 

 with the application of the microscope to the determination of cellular 

 structure as to be able to make determinations of proximate prin- 

 ciples in the substances under examination. In fact, a mechanical sep- 

 aration and microscopical examination is much more expeditious and 

 more at the command of the majority of persons searching for adultera- 

 tion. 



Chemical analysis requires a systematic and extensive investigation 

 of large numbers of samples, both pure and adulterated, to fix a stand- 

 ard of comparison, and this has hitherto been seldom done, owing to 

 the elaborate nature of the work and the expense involved. It should 

 not be neglected, however, since it serves as a most certain confirmation 

 of the microscopic results, besides furnishing information in regard to 

 the quality of the specimen examined and as to the quantity of any 

 adulterant, which cannot be obtained in any other way. "While, there- 

 fore, the microscopic method will always retain its value for preliminary 

 and qualitative examinations, it must, with the development of the 

 means of chemical investigation, become more and more a mere adjunct 

 of the latter, as in fact the microscope has become in all branches of 

 science. The application of the microscope to the detection of adulter- 

 ants will, therefore, be considered first. 



MECHANICAL SEPARATION AND MICROSCOPIC EXAMINATION OF SPICES 



AND CONDIMENTS. 



As a preliminary to the microscopic examination a mechanical sep- 

 aration by means of sieves of different mesh furnishes a means of de- 

 tecting adulterants and selecting particles for further investigation, 



