SPICES AND CONDIMENTS. 



139 



The manufacture of " P. D." is now a regular branch, of business, and the original 

 and specific term u pepper dust " has expanded with the progress of inventive art to 

 generic proportions, until now we have as well-known articles sold by the barrel 

 "P. D. pepper," "P. D. ginger," "P. D. cloves, "and so on through the whole aromatic 

 list. When it is considered that these imitations, lacking only such flavoring with 

 the genuine article as the dealer thinks necessary to make his goods sell, are sold at 

 from three to four cents a pound, and the retail price paid by the consumer is com- 

 pared with it, the strength of the temptation to engage in such practices is clearly 

 seen. When manufacturers openly advertise themselves as assorters and renovators 

 of merchandise, and openly propose to cleanse musty and damaged beans by a new 

 and patented process, it is full time that its significance should be considered by the 

 public. 



From the investigations, which have been quoted, it appears that the 

 adulterants which are met with in this country are very numerous. 

 Under the head of spice mixtures, or " P. D., ?? much refuse of all descrip- 

 tions is used up, and there are such changes in the character of the ma- 

 terial from time to time as the sources of damaged material or refuse 

 at hand may suggest. The diluents used in Baltimore and in the Dis- 

 trict of Columbia seem to be different from those in New York, and, in 

 consequence, some of the adulterants whiqh are mentioned most com- 

 monly in the reports from the North are not found in the spices of 

 southern millers. While it is possible, therefore, to give a list of sub- 

 stances which have been used as adulterants, it is quite out of the ques- 

 tion to say in what directions the ingenuity of spice-mixers will extend 

 in the future. The following contaminations in the various spices have 

 been already noted in this country : 



Spices. 



Allspice. 

 Cayenne 



Cassia , 



Cinnamon 



Cloves 



Ginger . . 

 Mace.... 

 Nutmeg. 

 Pepper . 



Mustard 



Adulterants. 



Spent cloves, clove stems, cracker dust, ground shells or charcoal, 



'mineral color yellow corn. 

 Rice flour, salt and ship-stuff, yellow corn, turmeric, and mineral 



red. 



Ground shells and crackers, turmeric, minerals. 



Castia, peas, starch, mustard hulls, turmeric, minerals, cracker dust, 



burnt shells or charcoal. 

 Spent cloves, clove stems, minerals, allspice, roasted shells, wheat flour, 



peas. 



Cereals, turmeric, mustard hulls, cayenne, peas. 

 Cereals or starch, buckwheat, wild tnace. 

 Cereals or starch, wild nutmeg. 

 Refuse of all sorts, pepper dust, ground crackers, or ship stuff; rice, 



mustard hulls, charcoal, cocoanut shells, cayenne, beans, bran, 



yellow corn. 

 Cereals and starch, turmeric, peas, yettow corn meal, ginger, gypsum. 



The materials in italics have been identified in spices examined in the 

 laboratory of this division, but some of the commoner adulterants have 

 not been found. Considering the spices individually, there are certain 

 peculiarities, as they are met with pure and in the trade, which should 

 not be overlooked. 



MUSTARD. 







Mustard, as sold in the ground state, should be the farina or flour of 

 the black or white mustard seed that is to say, the flour from the in- 

 terior of the seed bolted or separated from the hulls. The two kinds of 



