8o 
Sampling  of  Ground  Spices. 
j  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I   February,  1910. 
in  the  grease,  which  passed  through  the  entire  system  of  condensors, 
even  through  the  duplex  wet  vacuum  pump,  %  appearing  in  billows 
of  grease,  perfectly  white  on  the  surface  of  the  hot  well.  They 
clogged  the  valve  chambers  of  the  pump  so  that  the  plant  had  to 
shut  down,  the  grease  be  cleaned  out  and  new  valves  put  in.  To 
have  collected  and  identified  those  fatty  acids  would  have  been  an 
interesting  experience,  but  being  a  commercial  plant  one  car  of  such 
stock  gave  all  the  experience  cared  for. 
SAMPLING  OF  GROUND  SPICES.* 
By  Harry  E.  Sindall. 
This  subject  is  of  considerable  interest  to  the  food  chemist.  It 
is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  spices  as  imported  contain  consider- 
able foreign  matter,  mostly  small  pebbles  and  sand,  to  remove  which 
is  a  difficult  task  for  the  miller,  especially  the  pebbles.  Another 
point  to  bear  in  mind  is  that  some  spices  after  being  ground  have  a 
tendency  to  separate  into  layers,  depending  upon  the  difference  in 
specific  gravity  of  the  particles.  This  tendency  is  most  noticeable 
in  black  pepper. 
The  most  satisfactory  method  found  by  the  writer  for  the 
sampling  of  black  pepper  is,  first,  to  catch  about  8  to  10  oz.  of  the 
pepper  as  it  leaves  the  mill  at  different  intervals  during  the  process 
of  grinding.  Then  these  several  samples  are  thoroughly  mixed 
together,  the  mixture  separated  into  four  parts  by  means  of  a 
spatula,  one  of  these  quarters  divided  into  four  parts  in  the  same 
manner,  and  the  division  continued  until  a  uniform  sample  of  about 
4  oz.  is  obtained.  In  proceeding  with  the  analysis,  care  should  be 
taken  to  mix  the  contents  in  the  sample  bottle  before  each  weighing. 
If  ground  black  pepper,  the  hulls  of  which  are  lighter  in  weight 
than  the  other  constituents,  be  allowed  to  remain  in  a  pile  for  a  few 
days,  a  sample  taken  from  the  surface  would  far  exceed  the  standard 
allowance  for  crude  fibre,  and  would  run  low  in  acid  insoluble  ash, 
while  a  sample  taken  after  throwing  off  the  top  layers  would  run 
*  Read  at  the  Boston  meeting  of  the  American  Chemical  Society,  Decem- 
ber, 1909. 
