178 PROCEEDINGS OF TWEIsTTY-SIXITH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION; 



come under the head of deceptives, as tartrate poAVders rationaliy'used 

 are not supposed to be injurious to the health of the average man.. 



The jellies are good examples of deceptives. For instance, if currant 

 jelly is mixed with apple, a fraud is perpetrated on the consumer.- • But 

 as far as health is concerned one is as nourishing as the other, and the 

 compound far from injurious. When, however, gelatin, starch, etc., are 

 added, then it is a pecuniary cheat, for we do not obtain the amount of 

 nutrinaent paid for. 



Honey is one of the products very often found impure in the market, 

 especially in the liquid state. Liquid glucose has been in many cases 

 mixed with honey. It is the very thing to add, and if pure is so hartn- 

 less that it is no wonder that it is the main sophistication. Chemists 

 can much easier detect that than the addition of inverted sugar. The 

 same result is obtained whether the bees are fed inverted cane sugar or 

 whether the bees eat cane sugar and invert it themselves. 



Condiments are probably the most generally adulterated of all food 

 products. About fifty per cent are found impure in the market, the 

 materials used being wheat flour and wheat products, sand, brick dust, 

 cocoanut shells, almond shells, rice, middlings, etc. These materials, 

 with the exception of sand and brick dust, are perfectly harmless, but 

 the incorporation of them into spices is a fraud. 



Coffee adulterants consist of preparations of wheat, rye, barle}'-, peas, 

 chicory, etc. Sometimes artificial beans are manufactured from green 

 clay and some genuine coffee. These beans, on being heated, assume 

 the tint of real coffee beans, because the green clay absorbs the coloring 

 matter of the genuine coffee, thus imparting to the whole a normal tint. 



Tea. In 1887 Dr. Spencer, after examining sixty-three samples of 

 tea purchased in Washington, D. C, arrived at the conclusion that there 

 are few if any spurious teas on the market. The main adulteration 

 practiced in the case of tea is "facing," that is, coloring the leaves 

 which for some reason or other have been damaged in manufacture or 

 otherwise, to improve their appearance. The Chinese and Japanese dp 

 not face the teas they consume at home; only those intended for export 

 are so treated. Materials employed are Prussian blue, turmeric, indigo, 

 and plumbago. Prussian blue is insoluble in water or alcohol — it is 

 deemed a tonic febrifuge, etc., but at present rarely used. The dose is 

 from two tenths to three tenths of a gram per day. One would have to 

 coiisume a pound of tea to absorb that much Prussian blue. Similarly 

 regarding the adulterants mentioned above. '"Spent" tea is a form 

 whicia one sometimes finds in the market. It is nothing more or less 

 than tea which has been once used, dried and repacked. 



Salad Oils, which should consist entirely of olive oil, are largely 



