1680.] [For Advertising Kates see page 212.] AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
199 
Results of Vivisection. 
Interesting Experiments—Prof. Mott shows how People are 
Taking Poisdn in their Daily Food—A Prolific Source 
of Dyspepsia Scientifically Demonstrated. 
From the New York Tribune. 
A series of highly interesting experiments with dogs 
has been lately made by Prof. Mott, and in the Scientific 
American of Feb. 7 a detailed account is given. The 
disclosures are so unpleasant and startling, coming home, 
as they do, to every one, that we believe they should be 
given the greatest publicity. The effort Dr. Mott is mak¬ 
ing to purify our articles of kitchen use should receive 
the support of every thinking man and woman. There 
has been too much indifference of this subject—an indif¬ 
ference that has resulted in Americans earning the title 
of “ a race of dyspeptics.” Poison year after year is in¬ 
troduced into the stomach with a criminal disregard to 
consequences that is appalling. If every purveyor of 
domestic supplies will carefully consider the result of 
Dr. Mott’s experiments, as detailed in the Scientific Am¬ 
erican, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of these 
evils will be corrected. 
Dr. Mott says: “The introduction of alum in flour, 
for various purposes, has been a trick of the baker for 
the past 100 years. Fortunately for society, its intro¬ 
duction is limited now to a few unscrupulous bakers. In 
England, France and Germany it is an offense punishable 
by fine and imprisonment to use alum in any connection 
with articles of food. It should be so in America.” 
The Royal Baking Powder Company, of this City, a 
long-established corporation, celebrated for the absolute 
purity of their goods, some time ago commenced a vigor¬ 
ous warfare against many of their competitors who were 
indulging in hurtful adulteration. The contest excited 
great interest in scientific circles, in which Prof. Angell, 
Dr. Mott, and other leading lights took a very prominent 
part. The experiments of Dr. Mott are a result of this 
discussion, and go to prove conclusively that the most 
dangerous adulteration that a community has to guard 
against is alum in baking powder. In his paper, the 
Doctor says: “ It was with difficulty I found a suitable 
place to conduct the experiments so that the animals 
would not disturb the neighborhood; but, through the 
courtesy of the Commissioners of the Dock Department, 
I secured a Bhed on their premises, foot of Sixteenth-street 
and East River. This shed I had completely remodeled 
into a suitable house, having the dimensions of about 
16x14x12 feet. Sixteen stalls were made inside, having 
the dimensions of 3}x2x2} feet. The bottom of each com¬ 
partment was covered with straw, making a pleasant bed 
for the dogs. I then secured 16 dogs from the Pound, 
which were all carefully examined to see if they were in 
a perfect state of health. None but the strong, healthy 
dogs were selected. The breed, age, food, color, and 
weight of every dog was carefully noted. Each dog was 
then confined to a stall and securely chained, and they all 
received a number, from 1 to 16. I commenced my experi¬ 
ments on the 9th of September, and finished Dec. 3. My 
assistant was with the dogs from morning until night, and 
never left the animals without first securely bolting and 
locking the dog-house. No stranger was allowed to enter 
the house unaccompanied either by myself or my assis¬ 
tant, and the dogs never received a mouthful of food or 
anything else from any one except from my assistant or 
myself. I will now detail the result of my experiments: 
“ Dog No. 1—Breed of dog, coach. Age, 1 year. Health, 
perfect. Food, bread and crackers. Color, spotted black 
and white. Weight, 35 pounds. < 
“To this dog, on the morning of the 9th September, 
was given eight biscuits at 8:10 o’clock. The biscuit 
were made by myself as follows: One quart sifted flour, 
20 teaspoons alum baking powder, 2 cups water, 1 table¬ 
spoon butter, 22 biscuits made, weighing 27 ounces; 
time of baking, 20 minutes. 
“At 11:30, just three hours and twenty minutes, the 
dog was taken very sick, vomiting profusely ; his vim 
and brightness of eye had departed, and he trembled con¬ 
siderably in his limbs.” 
Experiments were then made upon three dogs with 
biscuits containing only 10 teaspoons of alum baking 
powder. The result indicated that some animals are 
more liable to yield to the effects of poisonous substances 
than others are. When, on the other hand, three other 
dogs were fed with biscuits made with pure cream of 
tartar baking powder, no ill effects were experienced. 
The ate and ate with an evident relish, day after day, and 
even whined for more. 
It was next necessary to discover what effect alum has 
on the solvent power of the gastric juice. In order to 
obtain some pure gastric juice, a curious device was re¬ 
sorted to. Dr. Mott sent several dogs to Prof. Arnold, 
Medical Department of the University of New York, who 
inserted a small metallic tube directly through the skin 
and into the stomach of each one of them, when the dogs 
were in a perfectly healthy condition. Prof. Arnold sent 
to Dr. Mott Borne gastric juice, which was produced by 
tickling the lining of the stomach of the dogs with a 
feather or glass rod, which caused the gastric juice to 
flow out of the tube into a receptacle placed underneath 
the dog to receive it. 
Dr. Mott, aided by Prof. Schedler, then began some ex¬ 
periments with the four samples of gastric juice, which 
he had received from Prof. Arnold, to discover the effect 
of the gastric juice in which alum has been dissolved 
upon fibrine, a white, very easily digested substance hav¬ 
ing a basis of coagulated blood. The fibrine was imper¬ 
fectly digested, and the experiments were very im¬ 
portant, as showing that alum can check the digestion of 
so easily digested a substance as fibrine. They indicate, 
therefore, how dangerous it is to introduce these two 
salts into our stomachs, if we do not wish to excite indi¬ 
gestion and dyspepsia. Further experiments showed 
that the digestive power of the gastric juice is entirely 
destroyed by alum, so far as its power of dissolving the 
more indigestible substances, like the boiled white of an 
egg, is concerned. 
Dr. Mott then determined to learn whether alumina 
could be found in the various organs of the body if a dog 
was fed with hydrate of alumina. He found a consider¬ 
able quantity of the stuff in the blood, liver, kidneys, 
and heart. 
The Doctor goes on to describe the different symptoms 
exhibited by these dogs as they passed through almost 
every phase of animal agony until they were left in a 
complete state of physical prostration. To those especi¬ 
ally interested in the details of this subject the article in 
the Scientific American supplement will give most com¬ 
plete information, and we will spare the sympathetic 
reader the account of the sufferings of these dumb brutes. 
Dr. Mott’s conclusions, after making these experi¬ 
ments, are of vital interest to every one who either makes 
or eats bread, and therefore concern all. 
“These experiments,” said he recently, while speaking 
before the American Chemical Society, “clearly demon¬ 
strate that the salts left in the biscuit when a cream of 
tartar baking powder is used are perfectly harmless, but 
when an alum baking powder is used are very dangerous, 
for in every case where dogs were fed on biscuits made 
with such powders the dogs were made very sick, causing 
them to vomit profusely, lose all energy, and show weak¬ 
ness in their limbs.” 
It is a clear and triumphant corroboration of the as¬ 
sertions of the Royal Baking Powder Company, and 
entitles them to the gratitude and support of the com¬ 
munity they are endeavoring to protect. As they claim, 
and Dr. Mott has shown, bread made of alum is totally 
unfit for human or animal food. ’Tis true, in the bread 
of domestic consumption there may not be as large a 
proportion of baking powders as was in the bread used 
by Dr. Mott, and that accounts for the fact that the 
symptoms in the reader are not so well defined as they 
were in the experiments in question. How many there 
are of our immediate friends suffering from this evil, 
scientific investigation will alone reveal; but many a 
lingering and suffering invalid, with no defined idea of 
his trouble, can easily trace it to its source by stopping 
the use of alum powders, substituting some brand like 
the Royal Baking Powder, whose manufacturers have a 
competent chemist in their exclusive employ, who rigidly 
analyzes every ingredient before its incorporation into 
their powder. The old cry of “honesty being the best 
policy” may be worn threadbare, but its truth will hold 
forever, and while adulterations and short weights 
abound, it is a pleasure to see at least one in the trade 
strenuously endeavoring to give full weights and pure 
goods. 
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