Enquire Within Upon Everything Part 206

These may be composed of any mixtures of the following articles:--flowers, dried and pounded; powdered cloves, mace, nutmeg, cinnamon; leaves--dried and pounded--of mint, balm, dragon-wort, southernwood, ground-ivy, laurel, hyssop, sweet marjoram, origanum, rosemary; woods, such as ca.s.sia, juniper, rhodium, sandal-wood, and rosewood; roots of angelica, zedoary, orris; all the fragrant balsams--ambergris, musk, and civet. These latter should be carefully used on linen.

2746. Rings.

Rings which have stones in them should always be taken off the finger when the hands are washed, or they will become discoloured.

2747. Adulterations.

A series of papers were published in the _Lancet_ and elsewhere a few years back on the subject of Adulteration. These brought about a parliamentary inquiry; the inquiry ended in demonstrating that nearly everything we ate and drank was adulterated--in many cases with ingredients very prejudicial to human health. The result of the inquiry was the pa.s.sing of an Act of Parliament in 1875 for the purpose of putting a stop to this wholesale adulteration by making it a criminal offence. The Act is called the "Sale of Foods and Drugs Act," and the following are the most important clauses it contains:

"No person shall mix, colour, stain, or powder any article of food with any ingredient or material, so as to render the article injurious to health, with the intent that the same may be sold in that state, and no person shall sell such article under a penalty not exceeding 50."

"No person shall sell to the prejudice of the purchaser any article of food, or any drug which is not of the nature, substance, and quality of the article demanded under a penalty not exceeding 20."

The Act also provides for the appointment of public a.n.a.lysts for counties and boroughs. An Act pa.s.sed in 1887 provides that all substances or compounds made to imitate b.u.t.ter shall be sold as _Margarine_, and all wrappers, &c., used in its sale must be plainly marked. These Acts are intended for the protection of the public; but we give below the names of a few of the chief articles of consumption that are liable to be adulterated, and when possible how to detect the adulteration, or the best mode of avoiding it.

2748. Bread.

The chief adulteration of _bread_ is alum. This is added to give the bread a pure white colour, which is supposed to be an advantage, thus enabling the baker to use inferior or damaged flour. The presence of alum can be detected by soaking a piece of the bread in an ammoniaca tincture of logwood. If alum be present the bread will be turned _blue_, whereas pure bread will remain _pink_. Recent investigations have proved that the presence of alum is extremely injurious, especially to children, affecting the coats of the stomach and impairing the digestion.

2749. b.u.t.ter.

b.u.t.ter is made heavy by water, being beaten up with it. Cheap samples are sometimes adulterated with other fats and grease, which however require an experienced a.n.a.lyst to detect.

2750. Cayenne Pepper.

The cayenne of commerce is adulterated with brickdust, red wood dust, cochineal, vermilion, and red lead. The last two are highly injurious.

These can be detected by any one possessing a good microscope. The best way to avoid the impurities is to purchase the capsic.u.ms or chilies, pounding them with a pestle and mortar, and rubbing through a sieve, in small quant.i.ties as required. The pepper is far better flavoured when fresh ground.

[...BEGINNING, MEAN AND END TO ALL THINGS--G.o.d.]

2751. Chocolate and Cocoa.

Those who prefer the pure cocoa can obtain the "nibs," or more properly "beans," and grind them. But many prefer the soluble cocoa, which is simply cocoa modified by admixture with less stimulating substances.

2752. Coffee.

Coffee is adulterated with roasted beans, peas, and acorns; but chiefly with chicory. Having your own mill, buy the roasted beans; find out a respectable grocer, ascertain his roasting-days, _and always buy from a fresh roast_. If you like the flavour of chicory, purchase it separately, and add to taste. Chicory in small quant.i.ties is not injurious, but you need not pay the coffee price for it. Grind your coffee, and mix it with chicory for yourself.

2753. Milk.

Milk is "adulterated" by skimming off part of the cream, also by the addition of water.

2754. Mustard.

Mustard is adulterated with flour and turmeric; as, however, mustard is usually sold in tins it is easy to obtain it pure, as under the Sale of Foods and Drugs Act, all that is mixed with flour and other flavourings has to be labelled as such on the outside of the package.

Many prefer this mixture to the pure article.

2755. Pepper.

Pepper is adulterated with inferior grain, husks of seeds, and even dust of a variety of descriptions. Having your pepper-mill, purchase the seed whole, and grind for yourself. You will then obtain the pure article at a moderate cost.

2756. Sausages.

The most offensive of all adulterations are found in these savoury morsels. Horseflesh, diseased animals, and odds and ends of every description appear in the tempting guise of "sausages." To escape this evil, make your own sausages by the aid of the sausage machine, which will enable you to add many savoury morsels to the attractions of your table. The same machine may be used for _chopping vegetables_, which it will do to such perfection that they will perfectly dissolve in soups and stews, and afford most delicious made-dishes. And in this you will soon save the cost of the machine.

2757. Tea.

Tea is all examined now by the Customs' authorities before "duty" is allowed to be paid upon it; it is, therefore, practically pure. This was only done about a year ago.

2758. Water.

This perhaps is more often adulterated than any other article of consumption. As a rule the water supplied by the companies to the large towns is exceedingly pure, that supplied by the London companies being a.n.a.lysed every month by a government official; but the adulteration chiefly rests with the consumer or householder, in not keeping the cisterns clean, dust, soot, and even dead mice, c.o.c.kroaches, &c., being allowed to contaminate the water; also by permitting the overflow pipe to be connected with the soil pipe, or drain, whence the water absorbs poisonous gases. The overflow pipes should in all cases be entirely disconnected with, all drains, and the cisterns should, if possible have a cover. The cisterns should invariably be cleaned out thoroughly at least every three months.

In places where the water is drawn from wells great care should be taken that the well cannot be contaminated by any drain or cesspool leaking into it. Many cases of serious illness, notably diphtheria, have been traced to this cause. When there is the least reason to doubt the purity of the well all the water for drinking purposes should be boiled before using, and no time should be lost in having it examined by an experienced a.n.a.lyst. All water that is used for drinking should be first filtered through a _reliable_ filter. Small gla.s.s filters for the table can now be obtained in every town for two or three shillings.

[GOOD WARE MAKES A QUICK MARKET.]

2759. Other Evils besides "Adulterations."

The butcher cannot adulterate the beef and the mutton, but he can send home _short weight;_ and in casting up a bill, he can reckon the odd ounces at one penny each, instead of one halfpenny; and the baker, besides putting alum into the bread, to make it white and retain water, can send home deficient weight; the same with the grocer, the greengrocer, and the coal merchant; the publican can give short measure, and froth up the porter to fill the jug and disguise the shortness of quant.i.ty; and the draper can slip his scissors on the wrong side of his finger, and make a yard contain only thirty-three inches. We don't mean to say that they _do_ this, nor do we mean to say that they _don't._ We argue, _that people ought to possess the means of ascertaining who among shopkeepers are honest, and who are not;_ then the just would meet with justice, and the unjust would suffer for their own sins.

2760. Nutritious Proportions.

Bread contains eighty nutritious parts in 100; meal, thirty-four in 100; French beans, ninety-two in 100; common beans, eighty-nine in 100; peas, ninety-three in 100; lentils, ninety-four in 100; cabbages and turnips, the most aqueous of all the vegetables compared, produce only eight pounds of solid matter in 100 pounds; carrots and spinach produce fourteen in the same quant.i.ty; whilst 100 pounds of potatoes contain twenty-five pounds of dry substance. From a general estimate it results, that one pound of good bread is equal to two pounds and a half or three pounds of potatoes; that seventy-five pounds of bread and thirty of meat may be subst.i.tuted for 300 pounds of potatoes. The other substances bear the followed proportions: four parts of cabbage to one of potatoes; three parts of turnips to one of potatoes; two parts of carrots and spinach to one of potatoes; and about three parts and a half of potatoes to one of rice, lentils, beans, French beans, and dry peas.

2761. Use of Fruit.

Instead of standing in any fear of a generous consumption of ripe fruits, we regard them as conducive to health. We have no patience in reading the endless rules to be observed in this particular department of physical comfort. No one ever lived longer or freer from disease by discarding the fruits of the land in which he finds a home. On the contrary, they are necessary to the preservation of health, and are therefore designed to make their appearance at the very time when the condition of the body, operated upon by deteriorating causes not always understood, requires their renovative influences.