sively in this country than the product of the olive itself. It is now to 

 be found on the market as a pure vegetable fat, and should its use sub- 

 stantiate what is claimed for it, there is no reason why it should not 

 become one of the most valuable products of the cotton-plant. 



COST OF ADULTERATION. 



The total value of the food supply consumed in the United States, 

 according to the American Grocer, is, at a low estimate, $4,500,000,000. 

 The Grocer estimates that 2 per cent, of this, is adulterated, or 

 $90,000,000, of which 90 per cent, is of a character non-prejudicial to 

 health (this is exclusive of meats and milk). Accept for the sake of 

 argument this statement, and the result shows that there is $9,000,000 

 worth of poisonous food products put annually on the country, and 

 $81,000,000 of fraudulent products. This immense sum of money is 

 simply stolen from the people each year by men who coin fortunes by 

 cheating the consumers. 



That this estimate is far below the truth none can doubt for a mo- 

 ment, after an examination of the very able reports made in those 

 States that have attempted to protect their citizens against this crime 

 of adulteration. Take the very conservative estimate of Dr. Abbott, 

 of Massachusetts, of a saving of 5 per cent, to the people in the in- 

 creased purity of food products (to say nothing of the benefit to health 

 and morals). On $4,500,000,000 the annual saving to the country would 

 be the immense sum of $225,000,000. There is undoubtedly a large 

 part of the food products that never leaves the hand of the producer, 

 and, of course, this is not adulterated ; and again the wheat and corn 

 production is rarely found adulterated in this country, besides which 

 there are, of course, many articles manipulated and sold by honest 

 men who would disdain to sell their goods if debased or misbrauded. 

 Yet, in spite of all this, undoubtedly the percentage of adulteration, 

 sophistication, and inisbranding, largely exceeds, in my opinion, 5 per 

 cent, of the whole, and I am confident that 15 per cent, would be much 

 nearer the mark. Such an estimate would give the startling figures of 

 loss to the people of this country alone of $675,000,000 a year. 



Congressional investigation on the hog product of lard clearly shows 

 that my estimate is rather below than above the mark. 



THE DEPARTMENT WORK. 



The Department of Agriculture has been for a number of years ex- 

 amining into the question of adulterations, and the chief of the chemical 

 division has prepared an extensive report upon this subject, known as 

 Bulletin 13 of his division, of which Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are already 

 in print and deserve more attention than a simple reference. It would 

 be well for Congressmen to carefully examine these reports, and they 

 will see that much has been done by the Department in the cause of 

 honest manufacture and in exposing the practices of the adulterators. 



