ON  SPURIOUS  LEMON-JUICE.  365 
port  of  Liverpool.  He  had  had  occasion  to  make  analyses  of 
several  samples,  and  found  a  great  number  of  them  spurious 
imitations  of  the  genuine  juice,  being  composed  of  a  solution  of 
tartaric  acid  in  water,  fortified  by  oil  of  vitrol  and  flavored  with 
essence  of  lemon.  The  following  are  the  results  of  the  analysis  of 
several  samples  of  pure  and  spurious  lemon  juice  by  Mr.  Evans : — 
PURE  MESSINA  LEMON  JUICE. 
I. 
11. 
III. 
IV. 
V.  | 
12.11 
4.35 
7.04 
9.56 
 i 
7.50 
0.00 
2.28 
2.07 
3.08 
2.75  1 
.34 
.45 
.40 
.37 
.16 
.13 
.23 
.23 
J  89.75 
86.73 
92.79 
90.26 
86.76 
LOO. 00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
SPURIOUS  JUICE. 
I. 
II. 
III. 
IV.  ; 
2.91 
.09 
97.00 
2.04 
.13 
97.83 
2.65 
.12 
97.23 
4.5 
Trace. 
95.5 
1 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00  ! 
By  this  means  a  cheap  substitute  was  obtained,  but  differing  most 
essentially  from  lemon  juice,  which  should  not  contain  a  particle 
of  tartaric  or  free  sulphuric  acid,  and  which,  alone,  can  be  relied 
on  as  a  preventive  to  scurvy.  He  had  been  informed,  on  reliable 
authority,  that  very  large  quantities  of  these  spurious  compounds 
were  annually  consumed,  being  supplied  at  prices  far  below  those 
at  which  genuine  juice  could  be  imported.  He  thought,  how- 
ever, the  whole  of  the  blame  did  not  rest  with  the  dealers — the 
public  is  equally  blamable,  being  so  much  actuated  by  a  love  of 
cheapness  ;  and  he  proposed,  as  a  remedy,  that  the  authorities 
should  insist  upon  an  analysis  being  provided  with  each  sample, 
and,  whenever  the  fraud  is  discovered,  enforcing  the  penalty  pro- 
vided by  the  Merchant  Shipping  Act.  There  could  be  no  excuse 
for  the  omission  of  this  very  plain  duty,  as  the  process  of  testing 
is  so  simple  and  inexpensive. — Trans.  Liverpool  Chemists  Asso., 
in  Pharm.  Journ.,  April,  1858. 
