and appearance it would be much better that they should be enclosed in open-mouthed earthen jars, which might be made of different patterns, and as ornamental as desired; by this means the necessity for colouring would be done away with, and there would be no occasion to use wax and resin, themselves frequently coloured with red lead, to coat the corks, and some of which substances, on the bottles being opened, usually find their way into the contents. Now that glass is so cheap, if bottles continue to be used they should, at all events, be furnished with glass stoppers in place of corks.

THE DETECTION OF THE ADULTERATIONS OF ANCHOVIES.

The Dutch fish may be distinguished from the true anchovy by its being invariably deprived of its scales, by its large size, white flesh, general coarseness, and by the very evident scale-marks which extend over the whole surface. The fins have the same disposition as the true anchovy, and the same number of rays.

The French, and especially the Dutch, fish are not only of much less value, but also greatly inferior as articles of diet to the true anchovy. The difference in their cost may be estimated by the fact that dealers find it worth their while to mix them in different proportions in even the same bottle. There is no difficulty in distinguishing the Dutch fish by the characters pointed out above; but it would be very difficult to discriminate between the larger samples of the French anchovies, when denuded of their scales, and that which in this article is denominated Dutch fish, and hence we infer that the two may possibly be separate states and conditions of one and the same species.

The French fish is caught off the coasts of Nantes and Nice, and is imported into this country in barrels packed in brine made with rock salt.

It closely resembles in its characters the true anchovy, and is probably of the same genus. Like the anchovy, it is deprived of its head and intestines, but the scales, and not unfrequently the branchial rays and pectoral fins, are entire. Moreover, the fish is usually somewhat larger, thicker across the back, tapers more towards the tail, and the flesh is much whiter than the Gorgona anchovy. These differences, however, are not sufficiently marked in general to allow of this fish, when bottled, being satisfactorily distinguished from the true anchovy by an ordinary observer. Its commercial value is about one-half that of the Gorgona anchovy.

The Sicilian fish resembles the Gorgona anchovy very closely, of which, by some, it is considered to be the young, it being smaller. Whether it be a state of that species or of the same genus we are not able to determine with certainty ; its value is at least one-third less than that of the Gorgona anchovy.

In none of the samples have we met with either sprats or sardines, although there is no doubt that both these fish have been, and are still occasionally, sold as real Gorgona anchovies. The sprat may be readily distinguished from the anchovy by the dorsal fin, which consists of seventeen rays, but more particularly by the position of the ventral fin, which is placed in a vertical line directly under the first dorsal fin-ray.

The sardine is a shorter and thicker fish than the anchovy; it has white flesh, and the relative position of the ventral and dorsal fins is different.

The detection of Venetian red and bole Armenian.— The presence of these earths is sufficiently indicated by the red colour of the brine and by the colour and earthy character of the precipitate. In order to obtain them in a separate state, the fish should be repeatedly washed, the washings and the brine evaporated, the residue treated with water to dissolve out the salt, and then incinerated and weighed ; finally, the ash must be tested for iron and chalk according to the processes already given.

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE ADULTERATION OF BOTTLED FRUITS AND

VEGETABLES.

DEFINITION OF ADULTERATION.

Copper or any foreign colouring matter.

An attentive examination, with the eye alone, of various samples of GREEN bottled fruits and vegetables served to raise suspicion, and to produce the impression that the method of preservation adopted by modern preservers of these articles was not quite so harmless as that originally proposed by Mr. Saddington, We felt, indeed, a strong conviction that the same means of coloration was resorted to in the case of bottled fruits and vegetables as in that of pickles. In order to determine whether this conviction was well founded or not, we instituted a series of rigorous analyses.

The extraordinary effect of copper, in heightening and rendering permanent the green colour of fruits and vegetables, is exerted upon the green contents of the cells, the chlorophylle, and hence it is the coloured portions of vegetables and fruits, as those invested by the epidermis, which are most affected by this substance. The copper used accumulates in this membrane as a salt—as an acetate, a citrate, or a malate of copper.

The presence of copper, however, in fruits and vegetables is not confined to the coloured portions; it penetrates through the whole tissue; and a considerable part of the metal used even remains diffused throughout the fluid in which the vegetable substance is contained ; hence it is desirable to analyse for copper not only the preserved article itself, but also the fluid in which it is immersed.

Results of Analyses of Samples. Thirty-four samples of different kinds of bottled fruits and vegetables were subjected to chemical analysis. From these analyses the following conclusions were deduced :

1. That of the thirty-three samples of preserved fruits and vege

tables, seven were free from contamination with copper. 2. That twenty-seven samples were more or less impregnated with that

metal. 3. That traces of copper were discovered in three of the samples. 4. In seven of the samples copper was present in small amount only. 5. Eight samples contained it in considerable amount. 6. In six samples the metal was present in very considerable amount. 7. Four of the samples contained this poisonous impregnation in

very large quantities. 8. That the samples of limes contained copper, the one in small

amount only, the other in amount more considerable. 9. That the gooseberries contained a considerable amount of copper, and

some samples even a very large quantity. 10. That the rhubarb contained an amount of copper even more con

siderable, some samples being contaminated with it to a very

large extent. 11. That the greengages contained a still greater quantity of copper,

the metal being frequently present in highly dangerous amounts. 12. In olives this poisonous impregnation was in the largest amount,

although its effect in heightening the colour of the fruit is less

marked than in the other cases. 13. The preserved red fruits, as currants, raspberries, and cherries, were

not as a rule contaminated with copper. The absence of copper in red fruits, and the variation of the quantity of that metal in green fruits according to the requirements in each case, afford clear evidence that this dangerous impregnation does not arise from the mere use of copper utensils, but that it is purposely introduced, the quantity being systematically adjusted in different proportions, determined by the kind of fruit to be preserved.

That this conclusion is correct is also shown by the fact, that according to the method of preparation usually pursued, the fruit or vegetable does not come in contact with copper.

The fruit or vegetable is taken directly from the baskets or sieves in which it is received from the country, and carefully packed in bottles; these are next filled up with a liquid, consisting of water holding a small quantity of alum in solution; they are then loosely corked, and submitted for a certain time to the heat of a water-bath, so as to ensure the coagulation of the vegetable albumen; they are afterwards more tightly corked, tied over with string or wire, and further secured with resin and bladder, or with a metallic capsule.

The presence of copper, then, in bottled fruits and vegetables can only be explained on the supposition that it is purposely introduced; and this is really the case.

As in the preservation of bottled fruits and vegetables there is no vinegar to act upon the copper of the vessels, the copper, usually the

a

sulphate, commonly called blue stone, is in all cases added direct to these articles. We have the authority of a manufacturer for stating that the quantity of this powerful and poisonous substance used is often fully as much as 5 grammes to one gross of bottles of the fruit ; this gives not far short of 0:04 gramme, equal to half a grain, per bottle, which is a full medicinal dose.

In some cases, where the quantity of copper is considerable, the metal becomes deposited on any metallic surface it may happen to come in contact with, in the course of a few minutes. In proof of this we will quote a paragraph from a letter written some years since by Mr. Bernays, a chemist resident in Derby, addressed to the Lancet.' He writes :

'I had bought a bottle of preserved gooseberries from one of the most respectable grocers in this town, and had had its contents transferred into a pie. It struck me that the gooseberries looked fearfully green when cooked; and on eating one with a steel fork, its intense bitterness sent me in search of the sugar. After having sweetened and mashed the gooseberries with the same steel fork, I was about to convey some to my mouth, when I observed the prongs to be completely coated with a thin film of bright metallic copper. My testimony can be borne out by the evidence of three others, two of whom dined at my table.'

The colour of green fruits and vegetables is sometimes apparently heightened by a second device; the bottles in which they are enclosed are made of a highly-coloured glass; those in which French olives are preserved are of so intense a green as to impart to the fruit as seen through the bottles a deep-green colour.

As a rule, the amount of copper ordinarily present in many kinds of bottled fruits and vegetables is greater for equal quantities than in pickles, which also frequently contain that metal in large and almost poisonous quantity. Add to this the fact that while pickles are used in small quantity only, a whole bottle of preserved fruit is consumed by two or three persons at one time; hence we perceive how much more dangerous is the employment of copper in the case of fruits than in that of pickles.

The present adds another instance to the many which have already been adduced, in which manufacturers, in order to heighten the colour of articles, and as they conceive, often very erroneously, to improve their appearance, have sacrificed their flavour and quality, and have risked health, and even safety.

In the preservation of red fruits, no copper is used ; but here, again, red colouring matter, as decoction of logwood, or infusion of beet-root, as well as the red aniline colours, which are almost constantly contaminated with arsenic, are not unfrequently employed, especially where the fruit is damaged or of inferior quality.