SPICES AND CONDIMENTS. 207 



The analyses of the pure specimens of pepper show that m all the 

 amount of water was between 8 and 10 per cent. This is of course va- 

 riable with surrounding conditions. The ash in black peppers did not 

 exceed 4.7 per cent., and in white 1.4. It is fair to believe that anything 

 above 5 per cent, for black and 2 per cent, for white is suspicious, other- 

 wise adulteration or dirt are certainly present. 



The volatile oil varies in black pepper from. 1.69 to .70, and in white 

 1.26 and .57 were found. This determination is not of great value as a 

 means of detecting adulteration. Piperine and resin, however, fur- 

 nish a most valuable check on the purity of the samples. In the whole 

 berries ground by us both black and white contained from 7.90 to 7.24 

 of these substances, showing great constancy in amount, and on the ad- 

 dition of adulterants this is plaiuly affected, It serves, in my opin- 

 ion, as well or better than determinations of pure piperine, the latter 

 being difficult and involving loss, as has been shown by careful exper- 

 iments made by Mr. Knorr under iny direction. It has also proved im- 

 possible to make determinations of piperine by the combustion or Kjel- 

 dahl methods by application of Stiitzer's copper hydrate process, the per 

 cent, of nitrogen being so small, 4.912 in piperiue, as to make the error 

 very large when converting the former to the latter, the necessary fac- 

 tor being 20.36. Rottger's objection to the value of the determination 

 of the ether extract is not sustained in our experience, and it seems 

 that he must have employed inferior ether, which is often the cause of 

 serious error. Only the best Squibb's ether or its equivalent should be 

 used for extractions. 



The alcohol extract appears to be of no value. 



The determination of starch or its equivalent in reducing sugars has 

 been looked into with care and the conclusions arrived at are that the 

 results are of value when carried out in the manner which has been de- 

 scribed under the general head of methods of analysis. A prelimi- 

 nary extraction with alcohol and water is necessary to obtain results 

 which are fairly constant. Determinations made in this way show that 

 black peppers contain from 34 to 38 per cent, of starch, or 42 to 47 per 

 cent, of substances of reducing sugar equivalent calculated on dry ash 

 free substance. White peppers contain in the same way from 40 to 43 

 per cent, of starch, and give from 50 to 55 per cent, of reducing sugar 

 equivalent on dry ash free substance. These figures are not as high as 

 those given by Leiiz, but are the result of careful work on pure samples, 

 extending over a long time and involving much experience. It is be- 

 lieved that they must be nearly correct. In our opinion there is no ad- 

 vantage in calculating the results to a sugar equivalent unless excessive 

 moisture or ash is found to be present. 



The crude fiber in the black peppers, as determined by our methods, 

 Iocs not vary far from 10 per cent. One sample contained but 8.74, 

 of course in the white peppers the amount; is much reduced, de- 

 iding to a certain, extent on the perfection of the decortication j 4 to 



