| KINDS OF SPICE PRODUCT | GROUND | WHOLE PRICE |
|---|---|---|
| Cassia, Batavia, | 7 to 7½ cents | 10 cents |
| Cassia, China, | 5¼ cents | 42 cents |
| Cassia, Saigon, | 36 to 40 cents | |
| Cloves, Amboyna, | 27 cents | 32 cents |
| Ginger, African, | 5 cents | 8 cents |
| Ginger, Cochin, | 13 cents | 12 cents |
| Mace, | 50 cents | |
| Nutmegs, 110s, | 48 cents | |
| Pepper, black, Singapore, | 18 cents | 18 cents |
| Pepper, black, West Coast, | 16 cents | 15 cents |
| Pepper, white, Penang, | 29 cents | 32 cents |
| Pepper, red, Zanzibar, | 9 cents | 10 cents |
| Pimento, | 5 cents | |
| Mustard, yellow, | 4 cents | 12 cents |
| Mustard, brown, | 5 cents | 12 cents |
Of course, the above prices are standard for the year when the comparison was made, but it is well to examine the figures as given and compare the price of the whole spice with the ground. Such comparison affords good indications of the extent of adulteration, since the meal is sold below the cost of the whole spice. We now find this article put up in barrels, as “P. D. Pepper,” “P. D. Ginger,” “P. D. Cloves,” and so on through the entire aromatic list. Different cities use different material for their pepper dust, using that which is most easily and, therefore, most cheaply obtained in their locality.
Fig. 20. Capsicum
Fig. 38. LINSEED
Fig. 39. PALM SEED
Fig. 40. EXTERIOR HUSK OF RAPE SEED
Fig. 44. PURE CAYENNE PEPPER
Fig. 45. CAYENNE PEPPER, ADULTERATED
CHAPTER III
HOW TO DETECT ADULTERATIONS IN SPICES—THEIR FORMATION AND ANALYSIS
AS far as its practical use to the merchant or consumer of spices is concerned, it would be as well, perhaps, if this chapter remained unwritten, and yet this treatise would be far from complete without it, as much of that which is herein contained is of the utmost importance, could it be put into practice.
In this chapter I attempt to give ways to detect adulterations, but the lamentable fact is that the general merchants have neither the time nor the facilities at hand to discover the foreign substance.
There are two principal ways of detecting adulterations in spices, which depend upon the difference in the structure of the cells between the adulterants and the true spice to which they are added, and also on their proximate composition. The former difference is recognized by the mechanical separation and by the use of the microscope, and the latter by chemical analysis. The adulterations found in spices may be classed in four grades:
First. Integuments of grains of seeds, such as bran of wheat and buckwheat, hulls of mustard seed, flax seed, etc.