“‘A gentleman was the father of a numerous offspring, having had one and twenty children, of whom eight died young, and thirteen survived their parents. During their infancy, and indeed until they had quitted the place of their usual residence, they were all remarkably unhealthy, being particularly subject to disorders of the stomach and bowels. The father, during many years, was paralytic; the mother, for a long time was subject to cholics and bilious obstructions.’” (P. 78, 79.)
These effects were traced to a leaden pump, in the cylinder of which there were found several perforations, while the cistern “was reduced to the thinness of common brown paper, and was full of holes like a sieve.” (P. 79.)
We now come to the adulteration of wine; to many of our readers, probably, a far more interesting concern than that of water.
“All persons moderately conversant with the subject are aware, that a portion of alum is added to young and meagre red wines, for the purpose of brightening the colour; that Brazil-wood, or the husks of elderberries and bilberries, are employed to impart a deep rich purple tint to red port of a pale, feint colour; that gypsom is used to render cloudy white wines transparent; that an additional astringency is imparted to immature red wines by means of oak-wood sawdust, and the husks of filberts, and that a mixture of spoiled foreign and home-made wines is converted into the wretched compound frequently sold in this town by the name of genuine old Port.... A nutty flavour is produced by bitter almonds; fictitious Port wine is flavoured with a tincture drawn from the seeds of raisins, and the ingredients employed to form the bouquet of high-flavoured wines, are sweet brier, orris-root, clary, cherry-laurel-water, and elder flowers. The flavouring ingredients used by manufacturers, may all be purchased by those dealers in wine who are initiated in the mysteries of the trade. And even a manuscript receipt-book for preparing them, and the whole mystery of managing all sorts of wines, may be obtained on payment of a considerable fee.” (P. 95, 97.)
“The particular and separate department in this factitious wine-trade, called crusting, consists in lining the interior surface of empty wine bottles, in part, with a red crust of super-tartrate of potash, by suffering a saturated, hot solution of this salt, coloured with a decoction of Brazil-wood, to chrystallize within them.” (P. 101, 102.)
But the crusting is not confined to the bottle.
“A correspondent operation is performed on the wooden cask; the whole interior of which is stained artificially with a chrystalline crust of super-tartrate of potash, artfully affixed in a manner precisely similar to that before stated. Thus the wine-merchant, after bottling off a pipe of wine, is enabled to impose on the understanding of his customers, by taking to pieces the cask, and exhibiting the beautiful dark-coloured and fine chrystalline crust, as an indubitable proof of the age of the wine; a practice by no means uncommon to flatter the vanity of those who pride themselves in their acute discrimination of wines.” (P. 103, 104)
This our readers will excuse, for it is pleasing to read of impositions which are practised on the sagacious. But, says Mr. Accum,
“Several well-authenticated facts have convinced me, that the adulteration of wine with substances deleterious to health is certainly practised oftener than is, perhaps, suspected.” (P. 104, 105.)
Presently follows the story of the passengers by the coach, who dined at Newark. Half a bottle of port made them all ill, one dangerously. Part of the other half caused the death of an inhabitant of the place, on whom an inquest was held, and a verdict returned, of—Died by poison.