Cocoa.—This is never sold in the pure state, and no two preparations are alike. The only safeguard is to buy it in packets bearing the name of one of the well-known makers, whose preparations are wholesome and adapted to the demands of the palate.
Pickles.—Pickles and preserved vegetables are often coloured highly by the addition of copper or by boiling the articles in copper vessels. The presence of copper, even in very small proportion, can be easily and rapidly detected by plunging a bright knife-blade into the vessel for a few moments, when, if copper be present, it will coat the knife. Another evil in cheap pickles is the adulteration of the vinegar by means of sulphuric and other acids, generally sulphuric, that being one of the cheapest. A very small addition of sulphuric acid can be detected by pouring a few drops of the vinegar on a small piece of lump sugar and then evaporating the vinegar away on a water bath; the residue will become more or less blackened (carbonised) according to the amount of free mineral acid present. (Hassall.) A water bath can be extemporised out of a china tea-saucer placed on a small saucepan in which water is boiling. A further risk in vinegar containing sulphuric acid is that the acid has been made from pyrites and is contaminated with arsenic.
Pepper.—Pepper-corns may readily be judged by tasting; they cannot easily be replaced by other seeds, but may have been damaged by sea water and retain but little pungency. Ground pepper is often adulterated with flour or starch, whose presence is at once revealed by the microscope. The same may be said of most spices.
Obviously the housewife cannot conduct a critical chemical analysis of any article coming into her household; the most she can do is to detect the presence of inferior or injurious goods. Where analyses are desired, the author will provide them on the terms stated below, on samples being sent to the publishers of this volume, with the necessary instructions:—
| 1. Chemical and microscopical examination of water, each sample | £2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2. Chemical examination of bread, flour, lard, butter, jam, marmalade, sauces, ale, wine, spirits, for adulteration only, each sample | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 3. Chemical examination of milk, coffee, tea, spices, pickles, and sweetmeats, for adulteration only, each sample | 0 | 10 | 6 |
Cleaning and Renovating
Cleaning and Renovating.—This is a wide and important subject, embracing not only the person and personal attire, but also the furniture and fittings of the dwelling and the various utensils of the household. Classification is adopted as far as possible.
Chip or Straw Goods.—To Clean.—Wash in warm soap liquor, well brushing them both inside and out; then rinse in cold water, and they are ready for bleaching.
To Bleach.—(a) Put a small quantity of salts of sorrel (oxalic acid) into a clean pan, and pour on it sufficient scalding water to cover the bonnet or hat. Put the bonnet or hat into this liquor, and let it remain in it for about 5 minutes; to keep it covered, hold it down with a clean stick. Dry in the sun or before a clear fire. (b) Having first dried the bonnet or hat, put it, together with a saucer of burning sulphur, into a box with a tight-closing lid. Cover it over to keep it in the fumes, and let it remain for a few hours. The disadvantage of bleaching with sulphur is that the articles so bleached soon become yellow, which does not happen to them when they are bleached by oxalic acid.