Adulteration.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 37, 11 September 1902, Page 17

Adulteration.

It is a sad fact, and one which does not exalt one's views of human nature, that almost everything which people eat or wear ia adulterated, that ia, it is prepared in such a way that it resembles something whioh it purports to be. The so-called advanco of scienoe has taught manufacturers to make woollen goods out of materials in which there ia no wool. Old rags are torn up and are furbished up in such a way that even an expert can with difficulty detect the fraud which is practised, when the resultant product is Bold as woollen tweed. What puzzles the observer is where the supply of old rags comes from. If cloth is made of Buch spurious materials and it in turn becomes rags, to be again converted iu to • woollen ' goods, the supply of raw material must naturally ruu f-hort, in which event the buyer may come into his own again. Ifc is eaid that the colonial-made article is free from this form of adulteration, for the sufficient reason that wool is cheaper than phoddy. In that caße, colonial tweeds ought to be very cheap, which nobody can assert to be the case. But the colonial goods have the merit of being genuine, which should make it a pleasure, aa it undoubtedly

is a duty inoumbent on every patriotic colonial, to wear oolonial woollen goods. If men (and women) studied the matter of health in regard to dress, they would avoid many dangers and probably save many dootors' bills. The omnipresent flanellette is especially dangerous as an article of underwear. It is speoiously prepared with a nap which has a kindly feeling to the skin, but in all the essentials of clothing it is simply cotton, and of no more value as apparel than calico, which is the undisguised article. There is no fact more firmly established than the unhealthiness of cotton undergarments. When they have beoome damp from perspiration they are virtually air-tight, and a draught striking the material converts it into a oold storage lining, which could jtnot be better designed for pneumonia, A garment of genuine wool takes up the perspiration, and the warmth of the body evaporates the moisture.

Medical men are unceasing in their warnings againßt the folly of wearing unsuitable clothing. Indeed, their warnings go bo far, that someone has humorously and half -despairingly said that the only Mife article of attire is the collar stud. The ordinary vest worn by man is a death-trap. It should be made of the same material at the back as it is at the front, for the sufficient reason that a man's lungs are nearer to the surface at the shoulder-blades than they are in front, and are muoh more likely to be attacked by the congestions which follow colds. Veßts are made of cotton or sateen at the baok, and are thus the most insidious of modern garments. The ordinary lilk muffler is a particularly vicious thing. Muffling the throat at best is certain to advance the possibility of throat and lung diseases, The mackintosh is another dangerous article of clothing. A comparatively warm rain may follow a period of cold weather in almost any winter month. The fact that the rubber rain-coat is waterproof is only one of its evil aspects — preventing the action of the skin pores. These things, however, are not illustrations of adulteration. They are as injurious when genuine as when they are adulterated. But it is in the infinitely more dangerous domain of food that the adulterator practises his deadly artsThere are few articles of food supply that are not. tainted by ad alterants. Peas are colored with copperas to make them look fresh and green. Milk is heavily charged with so-called preservatives such as boracic acid and formaldahyde, to make it ' keep.' Jam is made from turnips, and flavored with essences. Coffee is made from all kinds of refuse. Butter is made from suet and even more doubtful materials. The succulent saveloy and German sausage are composed of the flesh of aged bulls, and the white pudding containß more stale bread than oatmeal. Sausages were always a mystery. la these later days they are more so than ever, and they, are flavored with all kinds of herbs to hide their illegiti mate origin In fine, it has been found that there is hardly a single article of food which is not subject to the arts of the adulterator, and if the public only knew what they are consuming there would be serious misgivings,