CARMODY — FOOD ADULTERATION. 
203 
them in this climate, and the deficiency is counterbalanced by the 
use of Salicylic acid. This course is adopted only in order that 
they may be admitted at a lower rate of duty. 
Champagne and other expensive wines, are rarely examined. 
Some, which have come under my notice, are of very indifferent 
quality. 
Malt liquors consist of Stout and Beer imported in bottle or 
in cask. The extent to which stout is consumed here is remark- 
able. It is said to agree better than beer with persons regularly 
using it. The only form of adulteration which has come under 
my notice is the substitution of inferior draught porter for the 
bottled brands of recognised good quality. A prosecution under 
the Merchandise Marks Act took place a short time ago for the 
purpose of preventing this ; a small fine was imposed, but public 
attention was forcibly directed to the fraud, and this 1, / a y 
account for the considerable falling off (22,000 as compared with 
35,000 gallons) noticeable last year in the importation of malt 
liquors in wood. 
Our drink bill comes to approximately 20/- per head of the 
population, 
SECTION III— Meat and Fish. 
The next important item is Meat and Fish. There is no 
adulteration of these to record ; although salt fish is suspected 
to be sometimes unwholesome. 
SECTION IV.— Milk, Milk Products, and Fats. 
We next come to Milk, Milk Products and Fats. We 
import £7,000 worth of milk, and this speaks badly for our local 
milk supply. Some brands of imported milk are of good quality, 
others are but skimmed milk and therefore deprived of much of 
their nutriment. I may here conveniently refer to our local 
milk supply. Milk as you know gives us our first acquaintance 
with the wickedness of the food adulterator. We cqme into the 
world with a very small stock of experience, and a very profound 
belief in the integrity of that great human race of which we have 
recently been admitted a member. We take with implicit conn- 
<«nee whatever food is given to us, and from time immemorial 
we learn that milk has been prescribed as the proper and natural 
food for infants. But we very soon discover the iniquities 
Practised upon us. The capacity of our stomachs allows of the 
consumption of only a very limited quantity of food, and even 
;! lta limited quantity is deprived of its natural amount of nutn- 
tloa by the addition of water, not always of the purest. Is it 
