142 MAINS AGRICULTURAL EXPE;RIME;nT STATION, I905. 



TARTRATL-PHOSPHATL POWDERS. 



7018. Purity Baking Powder, made by Purity Baking 

 Powder Company, Boston. Purchased from Boston Tea and 

 Butter Store, Portland, April, 1905. In tin. Price per can 30 

 cents. Cost per ounce i . 7 cents. The label states that the 

 powder contains cream of tartar and phosphate of calcium. The 

 acid salts are correctly named. 



7035. The Pure Baking Powder, made by the Pure Baking 

 Powder Company, Albany, N. Y. Purchased from Fisher and 

 Crocker, Bangor, April, 1905. In tin. Price per can 10 cents. 

 Cost per ounce 3.2 cents. The label states it to be a pure cream 

 of tartar baking powder. This is false as it also contains acid 

 phosphate. 



TARTRATE-ALUM-ACID-PHOSPHATL POWDER. 



7238. Superb Baking Powder, made by Hudson Valley 

 Preserving Co., Glens Falls, N. Y. Purchased from W. J. 

 Elbridge, Foxcroft. In tin. Price per can 8 cents. Cost per 

 ounce 2 cents. " An absolutely pure compound being wholly 

 composed of chemically pure cream of tartar and bicarbonate of 

 soda with the addition of a little starch or flour." The label is 

 false in that while the powder contains some tartaric acid it also 

 carries alum and acid phosphate. 



V^INEGARS. 



When alcohol is placed under favorable conditions it takes up 

 oxygen from the air and is converted into acetic acid, — the acid 

 that gives the sour taste to vinegar. Whatever the source of the 

 vinegar, and however it is made, the acetic acid is the same. 



When a fruit juice, such as cider, is allowed to ferment, its 

 sugar is changed into alcohol by natural yeast-like ferments 

 that are in the juices. Under the influence of another organism 

 that is always present in old vinegar and in " mother of vinegar," 

 this alcohol is changed into acetic acid. In the old process of 

 vinegar making, which is still followed by many farmers, the 

 apple cider is put into barrels with open bungs and kept in a 

 warm cellar or other suitable place until both the alcoholic and 

 acetic fermentations have taken place. This is a slow process 

 and two or three years are needed to complete it. The addition 



