348 
Peppermint  in  Piedmont. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1921. 
lowing  up  on  this  investigation,  the  inspector  of  the  Bureau  of  Food 
and  Drugs  learned  that  the  barrel  in  question  had  been  purchased 
from  a  second-hand  barrel  dealer  in  the  borough  of  Brooklyn.  Upon 
interviewing  this  dealer,,  information  was  obtained  that  the  barrel 
in  question  had  been  purchased  from  a  chemical  company  in  Ho- 
boken,  New  Jersey.  An  inspection  was  made  of  the  chemical  factory 
and  it  was  found  that  the  barrel  in  question  had  been  used  to  trans- 
port crude  arsenic  from  Mexico. 
"In  completing  this  investigation  a  condemnation  of  four  hun- 
dred pounds  of  pickles  was  made  at  the  pickle  factory,  and  facts 
recommending  prosecution  of  the  pickle  manufacturer  were  recom- 
mended for  violation  of  Section  163  of  the  Sanitary  Code,  which 
states  that  'No  meat,  vegetables,  or  milk  not  being  then  healthy,  fresh, 
sound,  wholesome,  or  safe  for  human  food,  or  meat  of  any  animal 
that  has  died  of  disease  or  accident,  shall  be  brought  into  the  City  of 
New  York  or  held,  kept  or  offered  for  sale,  or  sold  as  such  food, 
or  kept  or  stored,  anywhere  in  said  city.  .  .  .'  For  the  purpose  of 
this  section,  any  meat,  vegetable,  or  milk  in  possession  of,  or  held, 
kept,  or  offered  for  sale  by  a  dealer  in  food  shall,  prima  facie,  be 
deemed  to  be  held,  kept  and  offered  for  sale  as  human  food. 
"During  an  investigation  of  food  adulterations,  an  Inspector  of 
the  Bureau  of  Food  and  Drugs  secured  a  sample  of  vinegar  from  a 
grocery  store  in  the  Bronx.  Upon  analysis  it  was  found  that  the  vin- 
egar in  question  contained  large  quantities  of  arsenic.  Upon  investi- 
gation it  was  learned  that  the  groeeryman  had  transferred  the  vine- 
gar from  its  original  container  to  a  second-hand  barrel,  purchased 
from  a  merchant  in  Brooklyn,  who  obtained  it  from  a  chemical  house. 
The  efficient  work  of  the  inspectors  prevented  the  sale  of  this  poison- 
ous vinegar  from  reaching  the  consuming  public." 
CULTIVATION  AND  DISTILLATION  OF  PEPPERMINT  IN 
PIEDMONT* 
By  Consul  Dana  C.  Sycks,  Turin,  Italy. 
A  small  but  very  profitable  industry  in  Piedmont  is  the  cultiva- 
tion and  distillation  of  peppermint.  The  communes  which  principally 
yield  this  crop  are  Vigone,  Pancalieri,  Villaf  ranca  Piemonte,  Polong- 
hera,  Lombnasco,  Casalgrasso,  and  Moretta.  The  crop  for  1920 
from  this  district  was  100,000  quintals,  or  22,000,000  pounds,  ob- 
tained from  600  hectares  or  1483  acres.    The  crop  of  22,000,000 
^Commerce  Reports,  April,  1921. 
