23 



[Translation.] 



The secretary of the interior of the Kingdom of Saxony has received notice from 

 the department of tlie interior of the German Empire that frequently dried apples, 

 especially of American origin, are offered for sale which contain more or less zinc. 



It is recommended, in order to protect the people against such danger, that special 

 attention should be given to this article, and that from time to time samples should 

 he analyzed, and, if necessary, sellers should he prosecuted. 



In accordance with these suggestions the hoard of health of Dresden was ordered 

 to take samples from various places where such apples were sold, to determine the 

 quantity of zinc contained therein, and to rej)ort thereon. 



By this report it was shown that in 7 of the 30 samples analyzed no zinc or only 

 traces could he found, while the remaining 23 contained more or less zinc. In 14 of 

 them the quantity of zinc oxid found in 100 grams of apples varied between 0.001 

 and 0.008 gram, which is equal to 0.002 to 0.021 gram malate of zinc. In the remain- 

 ing 9 samples the quantity of zinc oxid found was larger, varying T)et\veen 0.011 and 

 0.045 gram in 100 grams of apples =:= 0.023 to 0.110 gram of malate of zinc. Taking 

 into account that the minimum dose of zinc oxid for children is 0.0.5 gram three times 

 a day, it can not be supposed that children should eat for any length of time three 

 times a day 50 grams of apples. The board doubts if even the three samples with 

 the highest percentage of zinc oxid (0.03 to 0.04 gram in 100 grams) could be called 

 dangerous to health. 



As it seems, however, that the department of the interior shares the opinion of 

 some physicians, that apples with a percentage of 0.02 zinc could do harm to health 

 if such apples should be taken in considerable quantities, the board has handed a 

 copy of its report to the municipal board of the city of Dresden, stating the above- 

 named facts. 



METHODS OF ANALYSIS. 



In the method of analysis employed by Professor Cornwall, the 

 ev^aporated apples are extracted or digested with very dilute hydro- 

 chloric acid for several days. The liquid contents of the mass are sep- 

 arated by filtration, the filtrate concentrated to a small bulk, rendered 

 strongly ammoniacal, and the zinc finally precipitated electrolytically 

 as metal on platinum. In carrying out this process the presence of 

 other metals capable of being electrolytically precipitated upon plati- 

 num nuist be excluded. Cornwall states that he found neither copi^er 

 nor lead in any of the samples examined by him, but in a few cases iron 

 was present, and the amount of it, as determined in the usual way, 

 Avas deducted from the total weight of the metal weighed as zinc. In 

 experiments made where known quantities of zinc were added to 

 api)les free of that metal, Cornwall found that 98 per cent of the 

 added metal could be recovered by the process employed by him. He 

 therefore regards it as meeting the requirements of accuracy in every 

 respect. The chief objection to the process is found in the long time 

 required in the preliminary digestion of the sample with hydrochloric 

 acid. Cornwall further discovered that there was no connection between 

 the zinc found and the color ot the evaporated fruits. 



