33° 



RECREA TION. 



EMBALMED FOOD THREATENS THE HEALTH 

 OF MANY PEOPLE. 



Recent articles in several papers about 

 embalming milk, butter and other articles 

 of food have attracted widespread attention, 

 and a bill is now before the New York 

 Legislature to create a State board to in- 

 spect and condemn adulterated food. A 

 big fight is to be made against the bill and 

 the Pacific Coast Borax Company had 

 several representatives present at a recent 

 hearing to demonstrate that borax com- 

 pounds are not injurious, especially when 

 used in embalming food. They were met 

 by a vigorous protest from butter export- 

 ers, who showed that embalmed butter is 

 excluded from all the markets of the world 

 except 2, England and France, and that 

 butter containing borax is confiscated as 

 soon as found in 70 of the leading butter 

 buying countries. Proof was also advanced 

 that the chemicals only retarded putrefac- 

 tion and could not prevent it entirely, 

 while cold and cleanliness would do all 

 that preservatives could to preserve both 

 milk and butter, while they produced no 

 noxious effects. 



Dr. Piffard, of New York, said his ex- 

 perience as a physician had taught him that 

 the substances used in embalming butter 

 and milk are injurious and should not be 

 tolerated. 



J. A. North, of New York, produced a 

 sample of butter that had been treated with 

 preservatives and showed that they did not 

 prevent its decay. He laid great stress on 

 the immense loss to this country which 

 comes from the use of embalming com- 

 pounds by butter makers. He said no for- 

 eign country, except Great Britain and 

 France, would permit preserved butter to 

 come into its markets, and that this bar had 

 caused great losses to the butter exporters 

 of New York City. Letters produced by 

 him proved that less than J4 of one per cent, 

 of borax used as a preservative had caused 

 the loss of an entire shipment of butter to 

 the Santiago expedition. 



He added that he did not believe the peo- 

 ple wanted embalmed butter any more than 

 they wanted embalmed beef. 



When the use of borax in embalming 

 foods reaches such a point that a company 

 mining it can afford to send agents here 

 from California to fight for its retention 

 in the trade, it is high time the law makers 

 should call a halt on such work. 



One interesting exhibit consists of half 

 a dozen samples of counterfeit coffee beans. 

 Most of these consist of dough pressed into 

 the shape of the coffee bean and baked or 

 stained until the color of roasted coffee is 

 obtained. One of the samples has not been 

 analyzed, and its ingredients are not known. 



It has been generally believed that when 

 coffee was bought unground the danger of 

 adulteration was avoided; but the samples 

 of " dough " coffee beans now in the pos- 

 session of Dr. Wheeler could be mixed 

 with regular coffee to the extent of 50 or 75 

 per cent, of the counterfeit and still escape 

 detection. 



In the ground coffee exhibit, ground and 

 roasted pea hulls occupy the most conspicu- 

 ous place, but there are plenty of others. 



A small jar of plaster of paris extracted 



from a sample of flour is another of the 



t specimens obtained by Dr. Wheeler, and 



talc and white clay are also in evidence as 



adulterants of flour. 



There is a sample of tomato catsup, the 

 actual ingredients of which are ground 

 pumpkin, with an acid added to give the 

 proper flavor. 



Tea dust, worth about 10 cents a pound, 

 is shown as a mixture for teas that sell for 

 40 to 50 cents a pound. 



A strip of paraffine obtained from a sam- 

 ple of butter is another exhibit. Paraffine 

 is a by-product of coal tar and is indi- 

 gestible, beside being much cheaper than 

 butter. 



There are several exhibits of coloring 

 matter used in various food products, such 

 as " sugar yellow " and " sugar orange." 



HOW COFFEE, FLOUR, CATSUP, AND BUTTER 

 ARE DOCTORED. 



Dr. Wheeler, chemist of the Agricultural 

 Department at Albany, has 125 samples of 

 foods obtained from manufacturers and re- 

 tailers, which give a fair idea of the extent 

 to which such products are doctored in or- 

 der to cheapen the cost of production. 



HEALTHFUL FOOD AND HAPPINESS. 



The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table said 

 that " true happiness is four feet on the 

 fender before the fire." Delightful as such 

 an experience is, healthful food and good 

 digestion are absolutely necessary to secure 

 the fullest measure of earthly happiness. 

 Both animal and vegetable life are depend- 

 ent for healthy growth and development 

 upon proper nutritive elements suited to 

 and adapted to their respective needs and 

 requirements. The character and quantity 

 of food, the time and manner in which it is 

 eaten, will have a marked influence upon 

 the man; his disposition, courage and men- 

 tal ability. If the farmer by continuous 

 crops has robbed the soil of the natural 

 chemical nutrient elements needed in the 

 growth of the expected harvest, the return 

 for the husbandman's labor will be disap- 

 pointing and unsatisfactory. The student, 

 artisan, and mechanic, to do perfect work 

 in their respective departments,' must have 

 the best nutritive food, a healthy digestion 

 and the most approved tools. 



