genuine tea. In such cases the amount of lignin or woody matter and gum will be found to be much in excess while, unless catechu, or some other astringent, has been added, there will be a deficiency of tannin.

For the detection of foreign leaves it is in the first place necessary to be fully acquainted with the form, arrangement of the veins, and delicate serration of the tea leaf itself, and also with the appearance of the leaves likely to be used as adulteranta. In such an examination it is usual to immerse the leaves in warm water until they open out, and then carefully to scrutinise each leaf separately.

The addition of facing or colouring matter may be ascertained by submitting a few of the leaves to a current of cold water, and collecting and examining the sediment; but so long as duty is allowed to be paid on tea artificially coloured or otherwise adulterated, it would be a waste of space to enter into a detailed description of the method of detecting each spurious ingredient. The only useful service which surveying officers can render as regards the adulteration practised in this country, is to endeavour to detect manufactories of factitious leaves, &c.

COCOA.

Cocoa is prepared from the seeds of a plant called the Theobroma Cacao, which is cultivated chiefly in Central and South America. In the latter place, it is found in a wild state in great abundance. This plant, which somewhat resembles the cherry tree, grows to the height of from 20 to 30 feet, and bears its flowers and fruit on the stem and principal branches. The seeds are enclosed in an ovalshaped pod, some 6 or 7 inches in length and 3 or 4 in breadth, having a smooth appearance, and varying in colour from a bright yellow, to a dark red. Each pod contains, in general, from 20 to 40 seeds or beans, arranged in from 3 to 5 rows, and separated from one another by a soft pulpy membrane.

The plant flowers in the months of May, June, July, and August, and its fruit ripens about the end of December. The pods are then plucked, and left on the ground in heaps for a day or two, after which they are cut open, and the seeds taken out, and carried in baskets to the mill. Here they undergo a process termed sweating, for the purpose not only of removing the pulp which covers the seed, but also of developing to a certain extent the active principle upon which the quality of the cocoa depends. The seeds are placed in a large box, which is closed in such a manner, as to exclude as much as possible atmospheric influence; a kind of fermentation then takes place, and as upon this, the value of the cocoa chiefly depends, much care is required in its management. At the end of from 30 to 40 hours, according to the season and state of the weather, the seeds are taken out and exposed on trays, to the sun to dry; it is by this exposure that they become of a brown colour, from the oxygen of the air acting on the acid of the seeds. Whilst drying, they are constantly turned and shifted in order to expel all the moisture they contain. Lastly, as soon as the seeds rattle in the husk or shell, they are packed in barrels, and are ready for sale.

Before the cocoa is fit for use it must be roasted. The roasting is effected in a manner similar to that of coffee, a metal cylinder containing the seeds, being made to revolve over or before a slow fire. During this process the nuts become brittle,

the husks are to a certain extent freed from the nibs, and a peculiar oil, in minute quantity, is developed to which is due the pleasant aroma of the cocoa. When taken from the cylinder, they are-when perfectly cold-passed through a mill in order to break the husks, after which the nibs are separated by sifting or winnowing. These nibs constitute what is sold under the name of Pure Cocoa Nibs.

The chief constituents of pure cocoa are, an oil called Cocoa Butter, a nitrogenous body or alkaloid, termed Theobromine, almost identical with Caffeine and Theine, together with variable quantities of starch, gum, gluten, &c. The first of these, Cocoa Butter, is present to the extent of about 53 per cent. The shell or husk which is removed by roasting, forms about 12 per cent. of the whole bean. It, however, contains little or no fat. The microscopic structure of cocoa, is very simple, the husk consisting of tubular fibres, with a few spiral vessels, and the seed of very small cells filled with granules of starch and globules of oil.

The cocoa of commerce may be divided into two kinds, the insoluble and the so-called soluble cocoa, the former being sold under the names of Flake Cocoa, Rock Cocoa, and Cocoa Nibs, and the latter as Pure Soluble Cocoa, Granulated Cocoa, Homœopathic Cocoa, Iceland Moss Cocoa, &c. The insoluble is the only form in which it is entitled to the name of pure or unadulterated cocoa, all the soluble varieties being mixtures of finely ground cocoa, with variable proportions of starch and sugar. The former of these by yielding a mucilage, and keeping the particles of cocoa in suspension when the substance is mixed with boiling water, appear to render it soluble.

Chocolate is prepared by grinding the roasted nut into a paste between hot rollers, mixing it with sugar and starch, and then flavouring with vanilla, cinnamon, and other spices.

Adulterations. From the preceding account it will have been seen, that cocoa in nearly all its forms is a manufactured article, with the preparation or sale of which the revenue can offer little interference.

Beyond the substances already mentioned as necessary and harmless components of the cocoa of the shops, it is not usual to employ any adulterants, with the exception of a little Venetian red, which is added for the purpose of restoring the natural colour of the bean when an excess of sugar or of farinaceous ingredients has been introduced in the manufacture. The detection of Venetian red may be effected by the general method applicable to ferruginous earths, as described under the head of Snuff, (page 342).

362

CHAPTER VII.

BOOK-KEEPING BY DOUBLE ENTRY, WITH AN OUTLINE OF ITS APPLICATION TO EXCISE COLLECTORS' ACCOUNTS

Distinction between Single and Double Entry-General Principles of Double Entry -Specimens of Books—Explanation of entries, and mode of balancing— Application of system to Excise Accounts.

(1.) Single Entry. The account books required to be kept for the proper management of any trading or mercantile concern may be framed on the principle either of Single Entry or Double Entry. That which is called Single Entry is adopted chiefly by retail dealers, agents, professional men, and others whose business consists almost wholly of sales and purchases for cash or credit, or of receipts and payments of money, in which case a single entry of each transaction and amount in a principal book or ledger is sufficient. This is the most simple and concise method of book-keeping, as all that is necessary is, a memorandum or record of occurrences in the order of time, (a day-book,) with a ledger to contain the names of the persons between whom dealings take place; a stock, profit and loss, and balance account, and an alphabetical index of reference. In the ledger the dealer carries to the debit of his customers all the sales effected by him, and his purchases to the credit of those who supply him with goods. By making at any time a list of the sums due to him by his customers, and of the sums due by him to wholesale merchants, he may, after valuing his stock on hand and adding to the result the debts owing to him, arrive at a correct estimate of the state of his affairs. Such a mode of book-keeping, however, is imperfect and unsatisfactory, for although it enables us to balance the accounts of each party with whom business is transacted, it affords of itself no register by which the actual condition of the stock-in-trade, or the balances of cash and capital, can be at once ascertained, without having recourse to the very laborious and inconvenient process of stock-taking.

(2.) Double Entry.-Accordingly, in wholesale or mercantile business, where extensive and multifarious transactions have to be recorded and brought to account, preference is generally given to the system of Double Entry.

This system possesses all the advantages of single entry, besides being so complete and comprehensive in its principles, and so certain in its results, as to admit of universal application.

There can be no receipt Consequently, by presenting

Every transaction in business is of necessity twofold. without a payment, and no purchase without a sale. the same event or fact on both sides of the books that is, first on the Debtor or Creditor side of one account, and afterwards on the contrary side of some other account, the two entries verify one another; and from the circumstance of every transaction being thus posted in two opposite and countervailing places in the ledger, there is derived one of the most valuable results of this system of book

It is right to remark that the greater part of this chapter, so far as it relates to mercantile book-keeping, is a compilation from various approved works on that subject, amongst which Cory's Treatise on Accounts, is most largely quoted.

keeping, namely, a test of accuracy, for unless the entries on the debit side are exactly equal to the entries on the credit side, it is plain that the books will not balance. The name Double Entry, in fact, suggests the distinctive feature of the form of book-keeping to which it is applied.

Again, in the method of double entry, things as well as persons are made Debtors and Creditors, and one thing or person is made, or supposed to be made, Dr. or Cr. to another thing or person. In other words, real accounts, or accounts of goods of any kind bought or sold for ready money or credit, are opened, as well as personal accounts; and it is in this respect chiefly and essentially that double entry differs from single entry. As the ledger used in single entry contains only the accounts of persons dealing on credit, without any reference to cash transactions, it affords no other knowledge to the owner than what debts are due to him, or what he owes, and it is impossible therefore to ascertain from the books alone what goods have been sold, or are still on hand, or what profits or losses have been incurred in the course of trade. If a merchant wishes to determine the state of his affairs at any time, he cannot obtain that information by single entry without taking stock; that is, he must weigh or measure whatever goods are unsold, and, their value being fixed, he must then proceed to calculate the amount of his losses or gains.

The system of double entry, on the other hand, enables the merchant to tell, by mere inspection of his books, what quantity of goods is or ought to be on hand, and thus places in his power a means of investigation which neither fraud nor error can escape.

The books most essential to the practice of double entry are those called respectively, the Waste Book, the Journal, and the Ledger.

The Waste Book is a record, in plain and circumstantial language, of every transaction in the way of business which occurs during the day. It is usual to divide the Waste Book into several subsidiary books, such as the Cash Book, Bill Book, Invoice Book, and Sales Book. The Cash Book contains a debtor and creditor account of all money disbursed or received; the Bill Book an account of all Acceptances or Bills of Exchange; the Invoice Book an account of all goods bought, and the Sales Book an account of all goods imported and sold on commission. Such transactions as cannot be conveniently or properly entered in one of these books are recorded in the principal Waste Book.

The Journal is a kind of technical transcript of the Waste Book. In it the transactions recorded in the Waste Book are prepared for being carried to the several accounts in the Ledger, by having the proper debtor and creditor relation of each ascertained and specified. They are the same accounts reduced to a form which facilitates the process of posting, but agreeing with the Waste Book as regards the dates and the order of succession of the accounts.

As according to the principle of double entry every item must in the ledger be entered under two different accounts, the receiving account is said technically to be debited with each item which is added to it, and to be debtor to the account from which it receives it. On the other hand, the delivering account is credited with, and said to be creditor by every item which it gives up. Hence a «Journal post" is always made in the form of one account Dr. to some other account. Thus, where 50 cwt. of coffee is sold for £180 ready money,* * "Cash" is the receiving

· See the annexed specimen of a waste book, &c., page 371.

account, and "Coffee" the delivering account. Cash, therefore, is debited with the sum received, and Coffee is credited with the quantity of coffee delivered. Cash is said to be debtor to Coffee in this amount, and the Journal post of the transaction is made in the following manner :

Cash Dr. to Coffee,

For 50cwt. of coffee, at 72s.

...

...

£180 0 0

Again, where tea is bartered for tallow, the form of the Journal entry is, "Tallow Dr. to Tea," since the tallow account receives and the tea account delivers. Every item is entered in the Journal on a similar principle, the general rule being that the receiving account is always debtor, the imparting account is always creditor. For every debtor there must be a creditor, personal or otherwise, and vice versa. Consequently,

Anything received, the receiver, or the account on which anything is received, is Dr.

Anything delivered, the deliverer, or the account on which anything is delivered, is creditor.

These simple rules may be usefully expanded into a few others, which will apply under all circumstances, thus :

:

The person to whom, or for whose account I pay or furnish the means of payment, is Dr.

The person from whom, or for whose account I receive, or who furnishes me with the means of payment, is Cr.

Everything which comes into my possession, or under my disposal, is Dr.

Everything which passes out of my possession, or from under my disposal, is Cr. What I receive is debtor to what I give away.

When two or more persons or things are included in the same account, they are expressed by the term "sundries," equivalent to sundry accounts. If I sell cloth partly for money and partly for credit, I journalise the transaction as "Sundries Dr. to Cloth," and then specify the particulars.

The object of recording the Journal-entries in this technical form is, that the accountant when posting into the Ledger, and seeing, for instance, the Journal entry, «Tallow Dr. to Tea," should without further consideration, insert the particulars in the Tallow account upon the debit side of the ledger and in the Tea account upon the credit side. Similarly, in dealing with the Journal-entry, "Cash Dr. to Coffee," it would at once be perceived that the Cash is to be carried to the debit or receipt of the Cash account in the ledger, and the coffee to the credit of the Coffee account.

One of the special advantages derivable from a well-kept journal is, that if a double money column be ruled on the right hand margin of that book, and the money value of each item of debit be entered in the inner of the two columns, and of each item of credit in the outer, not only will the making of the requisite entries in the ledger be facilitated, but as there is a double entry of each item, if every page of the journal be added up, the sum total of the debit columns must equal the total of the credit columns, provided the work has been properly performed; and this result is highly useful both as a test of correctness, and also as giving the total of all the transactions that have taken place up to the time of the addition. Owing to these recommendations, the plan of double money-columns in the Journal, although it involves a little more trouble to the book-keeper, is now very generally adopted.