78 ELEMENTS OF APPLIED MICROSCOPY. 
8. Adulterants of Pepper.—Pepper is one of the most 
commonly adulterated of spices, and may be found 
mixed with a wide variety of substances. As in the case 
of mustard, the ground hulls of the seed itself furnish a 
frequent sophistication. The most general adulterant in 
the United States is perhaps buckwheat-starch, which is 
not easy to detect since it closely resembles that of the 
pepper in shape and occurrence. The individual grains 
are, however, about twice the size of the pepper-starch, 
and the masses, as a rule, are also larger. In Germany 
dried and ground bread is often used, as well as the bark 
of trees, bran, sawdust, pulverized nut-shells, and hulls 
of mustard, rape, peanut, linseed, or almonds. In France 
and in this country ground olive-stones are a common 
adulterant. They are made up principally of large fusi- 
form stone-cells which resemble those of the pepper 
except in their size and the fact that they are practically 
colorless. The occurrence of any substance other than the 
normal tissues of the pepper, and in particular of foreign 
starches and the elongated cells and tracheids characteris- 
tic of plant-stems, will suggest the presence of some adul- 
terant. 
In all these instances only careful comparison with a 
series of known pure substances will enable the analyst 
to determine certainly which of these foreign materials is 
present. 
