TRADE NAMES

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 August 1928, Page 10

TRADE NAMES

NOT ALWAYS ACCURATE.

In its report, the British Food Council on fish, referring to sea bream, ling, gurnard, megrims and witches, and catfish, (otherwise wolf-fish), says that some of these are handicapped by their names, and suggests that “more attractive names might be found.” Fish nomenclature is not always pleasing; but the fish trade does not need any instruction in this direction. Some ling is “codling,” “rock salmon” is catfish, and large quantities of sprats caught off the English coast are converted into anchovies from the Mediterranean.

There is a good deal of similar masquerade at the poulterer’s. “Surrey fo\yl” (always top price) now comes from Sussex, and every year thousands of the “plovers’ ” eggs sold in London are really eggs of the blackheaded or laughing gull, which breeds in large numbers on Scoulton Mere, Norfolk. These eggs may be detected by the shape, being less sharp at the point, than the plover’s. In provision shops there may he more duplicity. “Lemon cheese” is sometimes a particularly glaring misnomer. There is a make on the market that is described as preparedjrom “lemons, eggs, sugar, butter, etc.” So it is; but the “etc.” covers about onethird of the whole.

In a trade recipe for “lemon cheese,” the entire ingredients are sugar, tartaric acid, glucose, starches, margarine, gum tragacanth, and “flavouring.” No eggs! No butter! No lemons!

Furniture is subject to similar trade practices. Many “mahogany” pianos are made from the wood of the tulip tree and the wood of the cucumber tree, of Southern Ontario, is commonly passed off as mahogany. So it is with coal. “Derby brights” is meaningless, and, though no true Wallsend came to London for at least half a, century, “Best Wallsend” was sold during the whole time. B, is in the fur trade that aliases are most numerous. The pelts of many animals are unrecognisable under the terms applied to them in shops, and frequently the, name of a skin gives no indication of its true source. An instance is the pelt of the common eat. Bunny’s, too. is given many pretentious names'. “Seal coney.” “musquash coney,” “chinchilla coney,’ “electric seal.” “coast seal.” “French ermine” —these and others are rabbit skms in disguise.

There is a suspicion that a certain barrister on the Western Circuit was not far wrong in believing that bunny i.s sometimes oven more glorified. “False pretences!” he cried, in defending a man charged with obtaining money by false pretences. “Why, we all make them every day—barristers and solicitors and judges, the whole lot of ns. Talk of the purity of the judicial ermine!” Hero he pointed at the judge. “Why, it’s only rabbit skin!”