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Pigs and Bacon. 
and manufacture their meat as to resemble our own is one 
thing, and even to use such terms as “ Wiltshire,” “ Stafford,” 
and “ Cumberland ” in their factories for the purpose of dis- 
tinguishing the various cuts, but these appellations should 
certainly not be continued when the meat reaches this country 
if, as is the case, by so doing the British public is deceived 
into believing that such goods are of home manufacture. Our 
“ Merchandise Marks Act,” if more rigorously applied would, 
of course, absolutely prohibit the importation of goods so 
labelled, but so far as the bacon trade is concerned this Act 
might almost as well not exist. 
One other important point in connection with foreign 
supplies must also be mentioned, viz., the use made of borax. 
The presence of this and kindred chemicals are not considered 
desirable in foods of any kind ; indeed, there is a consensus of 
opinion that borax is distinctly injurious to human health, and 
this finds support amongst the medical profession to a very 
large extent. On the other hand, the bacon manufactured in 
England is, I believe, invariably cured without the use of this 
objectionable article, salt and saltpetre alone being employed 
to preserve the meat. 
The importation of foreign bacon under present conditions 
is therefore doubly unfair since, in the first place, this meat 
is not distinguished by any mark whatever from the home 
article ; and in the second place it contains borax without 
bearing any mark to show that such is the case. And this 
disadvantage to the home producer is accentuated when it is 
])ointed out that this boraxed bacon is inclined to appeal to the 
palate for the reason that correspondingly less salt is necessary 
to preserve it. My argument is, that without in the slightest 
degree restricting the importation of foreign bacon, the source 
of origin should be plainly marked on every piece ; and in view 
of the present state of public opinion there should be added 
some indication as to whether or not it is “guaranteed free 
from borax.” 
Here, again, we can learn from the foreigner’s methods. 
Practically every foreign government not only insists on a 
sworn declaration as to the country of origin and the conditions 
under which the pigs have been bred, fed, and killed, but they 
absolutely prohibit the importation of an ounce either of bacon 
or other produce that has come into the slightest contact with 
borax in any shape or form. And their Custom Regulations 
are by no means confined to these limits. At the present time 
we have, in addition to complying with the aforementioned 
requirements, to supply a veterinary certificate, signed by a 
duly authorised Meat Inspector, declaring that he has person- 
ally subjected the hogs to ante-mortem as well as post-mortem 
