CHAPTER X 



THE MICROSCOPE AS DETECTIVE 



IT is an unfortunate fact that our food is not 

 always absolutely pure. It may be contami- 

 nated with foreign matter either by accident 

 or by design. However careful the manufacturer 

 may be in, say the preparation of cocoa, some dust, 

 some waste vegetable matter, perhaps even a few 

 stray dried insects may occur as impurities. They 

 are out of place certainly but, at the worst, they are 

 a sign of lack of care on the part of the manufacturer. 

 There is another, more serious side to the question of 

 food adulteration, where the foreign matter is added 

 purposely, either because it is cheap, because it 

 weighs heavily, imparts a pleasing colour or an 

 agreeable aroma. Such adulteration is a form of 

 fraud and the microscope is an invaluable aid in 

 its detection. 



In many respects the microscope is a better 

 informant than the tests of the chemists; in some 

 cases, however, it merely supplements and confirms 

 the chemical results. Let us consider, for a moment, 



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