The objections to the use of some of these chemicals are discussed in Adulteration (Vol. 1, p. 218), by Otto Hehner. This article is about as long as 50 pages of this Guide. There is an interesting historical introduction, from which we learn that the first legal statute in which the adulteration of food is noticed dates from the reign of King John in England (1203). There is an elaborate account of all the subsequent legislation in Great Britain, the United States, and Germany. The effects upon digestion of the chemical preservatives mentioned above are shown in the light of the very latest investigations. There is a section on colouring matter in food, with information about harmless and harmful dyes; and the last part of the article considers adulteration as recently applied to the more important articles of food, such as milk (with tests for borax and formaldehyde), cream, butter, cheese, lard, oils, flour and bread, sugar, marmalade and jams, tea, coffee, cocoa and chocolate, wine, beer, spirits, non-alcoholic drinks, and vinegar.
The properties of adulterants and colouring matters are described in separate articles, such as Glucose (Vol. 12, p. 141); Saccharin (Vol. 23, p. 970); Paraffin (Vol. 20, p. 752), which is sometimes added to coffee when it is roasted; Alum (Vol. 1, p. 766), often used with weak and unstable flours in bread making, and unwholesome, although not strictly speaking an adulterant; Sago (Vol. 23, p. 1003) and Arrowroot (Vol. 2, p. 649), which provide adulterants of cocoa; Chicory (Vol. 6, p. 131), which many consumers insist upon using in their coffee; Copper, Compounds (Vol. 7, p. 109), which describes the copper salts used for colouring canned vegetables; Anatto (Vol. 1, p. 943) and Turmeric (Vol. 27, p. 474), two harmless vegetable colouring matters, much employed; and Aniline (Vol. 2, p. 47). A full list of the various other colouring matters will be found in the article Dyeing (Vol. 8, p. 744).
Another group of articles will be found particularly useful in connection with the manufacture of certain classes of food products. Among these are Fermentation (Vol. 10, p. 275), by J. L. Baker, the noted English analytical and consulting chemist; Fungi (Vol. 11, p. 333), illustrated, with its information about molds; Bacteriology (Vol. 3, p. 156), illustrated, especially for the material relating to the nature of toxins (p. 174)—both of these articles by the late Professor Ward of Cambridge and Professor Blackman of the University of Leeds; Medical Jurisprudence, Food Poisoning (Vol. 18, p. 29), by Prof. H. H. Littlejohn, of the University of Edinburgh, and T. A. Ingram; and Poison (Vol. 21, p. 893), by the late Dr. Sir Thomas Stevenson, of Guy’s Hospital, London.
The diseases of animals which affect meat are described in the article Veterinary Science (Vol. 28, p. 2), by George Fleming, author of Animal Plagues, and Prof. John MacQueen of the London Veterinary College, which contains sections on diseases of cattle, sheep and pigs as well as on the principal parasites of domestic animals; and there are separate articles on Anthrax (Vol. 2, p. 106); Foot and Mouth Disease (Vol. 10, p. 617), Pleuro-Pneumonia, or Lung Plague (Vol. 21, p. 838), and Rinderpest (Vol. 23, p. 348).
Special Foods
The article Flour and Flour Manufacture (Vol. 10, p. 548), by George F. Zimmer, not only describes the processes of milling and of dressing and bleaching the flour, but also gives the history of milling from the earliest times, and deals with the special customs of different countries. There is a very full article Bread (Vol. 4, p. 465), by the same contributor. It is not generally known that there are in existence remains of cakes made by the Swiss lake-dwellers in the Stone Age. The author says that, in all probability, they were baked on hot stones. The machine bakeries of the present day are described; and there are sections on sanitation of bakehouses, quality, flavour and colour of flour, baking powders, methods of dough making (the ferment-and-dough, the sponge-and-dough, and other systems), leavened, unleavened and aerated bread, and the recently invented Apostolov process, which among other advantages, permits the utilization of about 87½% of the wheat berry in bread making. A complete modern bread-making plant is described, together with the latest types of machine kneaders, dough dividers and mixers, and baking ovens. There are also articles on Biscuit (Vol. 3, p. 992), Macaroni (Vol. 17, p. 192), Vermicelli (Vol. 27, p. 1024), and Gluten (Vol. 12, p. 145).
The article Starch (Vol. 25, p. 794) treats of the manufacture of this most important alimentary substance. The materials from which the chief food starches are made are described in Maize (Vol. 7, p. 448), Arrowroot (Vol. 2, p. 649), with illustrations showing the appearance under the microscope of the substances which pass commercially under the name of arrowroot or farina; Sago (Vol. 23, p. 1003), Tapioca (Vol. 26, p. 413), and Cassava (Vol. 5, p. 457). Oat (Vol. 19, p. 938) has information about the manufacture of oatmeal.
The article Sugar (Vol. 26, p. 35) is by two practical experts, Alfred and Valentine W. Chapman. It deals with the chemistry, manufacture, history and statistics of this important food product as well as with the cultivation of the sugar cane and beet.
Among articles on the products in the manufacture of which sugar is employed is Jams and Jellies (Vol. 15, p. 150), by Otto Hehner. The author points out many things of interest, for example why starch-glucose is an ingredient and not an adulterant of these products, and he shows the baselessness of the prejudice against the use of beet sugar in their manufacture. The manufacturer of jellies and preserves will find separate articles on all the fruits employed, and other information in Gelatin (Vol. 11, p. 554); in Irish Moss (Vol. 14, p. 795) as to the properties of vegetable gelatin; and in Isinglass (Vol. 14, p. 872), which, besides its gelatinous qualities, possesses the property of clarifying wines, beers, and other liquids. Confectionery (Vol. 6, p. 898) describes an important industry—which until the middle of the 19th century was part of the druggist’s business. See also Chocolate (Vol. 6, p. 259) and Jujube (Vol. 15, p. 546).
Salt (Vol. 24, p. 87) covers the manufacture of salt very fully. It is curious to note that the termination “wich” in English place-names points to localities of ancient salt manufacture, for “wich” is an old English word meaning saltspring. This article contains an interesting section on the Ancient History and Religious Symbolism of salt (p. 90), by the late Dr. William Robertson Smith. The preservative qualities of salt were held to make it a peculiarly fitting symbol of any enduring compact, and in more than one part of the world cakes of salt have been used as money.