^\iTi%T'}  Adulteration  of  Food,  559' 
metallic  sulphide  will  immediately  produce  a  separation  of  sulphur, 
which  will  as  quickly  be  dissolved  by  a  further  addition  of  a  few  drops 
of  bromine-water. 
In  dissolving  precipitated  metallic  sulphides  I  proceed  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner  :  I  perforate  the  filter-paper  and  wash  as  much  of 
the  precipitate  as  possible  into  a  beaker.  I  then  pour  some  of  the 
bromine  gas  into  the  funnel  and  cover  the  latter  with  a  watch  glass, 
when  after  a  few  minutes  the  rest  of  the  sulphide  may  be  washed  into 
the  same  beaker,  and  a  further  addition  of  bromine-water  readily 
oxidizes  the  rest  of  the  sulphide.  I  thus  get  rid  altogether  of  the 
trouble  of  burning  the  filter-paper. 
Bromine  liberates  nitrogen  in  contact  with  ammonia  and  can  there- 
fore not  be  employed  as  an  oxidizing  agent,  in  an  ammoniacal  solu- 
tion. Ammonia  may  therefore  with  advantage  be  used  to  destroy  an 
excess  of  bromine.  Ammoniacal  salts  sometimes  prevent  the  develop- 
ment of  the  oxidizing  property  of  bromine,  so  that  the  peroxides  of 
cobalt,  nickel  and  manganese  can  not  be  formed  under  these  condi- 
tions ;  iron,  tin  and  mercury  salts  will,  however,  be  easily  converted 
into  the  higher  oxides  in  acid  solutions,  though  they  contain  ammo- 
niacal salts. 
Bromine,  as  it  usually  occurs  in  commerce,  is  not  pure,  but  contains 
a  substance,  which  seems  to  be  caoutchouc,  from  which  it  must  be 
freed  by  distillation  in  an  apparatus,  which  does  not  have  any  caout- 
chouc connections. — American  Chemist,  October,  1871. 
ON  THE  ADULTERATION  OF  FOOD,  PRINCIPALLY  WITH  A 
YIEW  TO  ITS  DETECTION  BY  THE  MICROSCOPE.^ 
By  Walter  Morris. 
Adulteration  was  defined  as  being  the  fraudulent  addition  to  any 
substance  of  another,  for  the  sake  of  increased  sale  or  profit.  There 
are  several  modes  of  accomplishing  this  end  ;  the  first,  and  the  most 
common,  is  by  the  addition  of  some  article  to  increase  the  bulk  or 
weight,  as  when  starch  is  added  to  mustard,  and  cheaper  flours  to 
wheaten  flour ;  the  second  by  improving  the  appearance  and  apparent 
quality,  so  as  to  sell  an  inferior  article  at  the  price  of  a  better,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  artificial  coloring  of  pickles  made  of  stale  vegetables 
*  Abstract  of  a  Paper  read  before  the  Manchester  Literary  and  Philosophical 
Society. 
