THE PELORUS GUARDIAN and Miners' Advocate. TUESDAY 17th MARCH, 1908. TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 19, Issue 21, 17 March 1908, Page 4

THE PELORUS GUARDIAN and Miners' Advocate. TUESDAY 17th MARCH, 1908. TOPICS OF THE DAY.

THERE is much that is seductive in the appearance of SILK PURSES some modern foodFRoM SOWS' stuffs. Who has not EARS! gazed in wrapt ecstasy at the brilliant green of French bottled peas, admired the delicate shading on the labels in the grocers' shops, and revelled at the glittering suggestion of good cheer in the raspberry syrup bottle ? People must eat, and the demand for convenience has deluged all countries with comestibles packed in handy vessels. If one buys a tin of pepper and expects it even half pepper he has faith even as the proverbial mustard seed. But if he wants to buy fine flour then let him ask for pepper. The common articles of every day use are those on which the faker exercises his arts. Of course, the mustard in the flour which is the basis of most " mustards," spoils the flavour of the flour. Many famous edibles put up in handy vessels are not what they purport to be. There is the condensed milk that has no cream in it, the glorious raspberry jam that is mostly clover seed and pumpkin, the delicious foreign vegetables put up in dainty bottles and which are coloured with aniline dyes, and most of all there is the temperance drink. Lemon squash that has no lemons, limejuice which never saw a lime, but which knows all there is to know about injurious chemical acids and the brilliant fluids, masquerading under fruity titles which are aniline dyed, flavoured with a product of coal tar, and made toothsome by syrup of sugar. And the Health Department know all about each of the frauds that sell so rapidly to an uninquiring public, but the Health Department are a small affair and cannot analyse the contents of millions of vessels. It is not that the oversea products which find so great a sale in the colonies are the most adulterated. Colonial manufacturers there are who make haste to get rich at the expense of the stomach of the people. It says a great deal for the adaptability of the human interior that it can cope with the volume of rubbish that is poured into it because some manufacturers desire riches, and it also shows how apathetic the public may become in this matter. The dainty confectionery so much desired by children is frequently not desirable if one only knows what it contains, and there is no doubt in many minds that the race is becoming rapidly toothless by indulgence in edibles that are not what they purport to be and belie the label on the exterior,