Adulteration is a term not only applied in its proper sense to the fraudulent mixture of articles of commerce, food, drink, drugs, seeds, etc, with noxious or inferior ingredients, but also by magistrates and analysts to accidental impurity, and even in some cases to actual substitution.
The chief objects of adulteration are to increase the weight or volume of the article, to give a colour which either makes a good article more pleasing to the eye or else disguises an inferior one, to substitute a cheaper form of the article, or the same substance from which the strength has been extracted, or to give it a false strength.
Among the adulterations which were commonly practised around 1905 for the purpose of fraudulently increasing the weight or volume of an article are the following: Bread was adulterated with alum or sulphate of copper, which gives solidity to the gluten of damaged or inferior flour; with chalk or carbonate of soda to correct the acidity of such flour; and with boiled rice or potatoes, which enables the bread to carry more water, and thus to produce a larger number of loaves from a given quantity of flour. Wheatflour is adulterated with other inferior flours, as the flour from rice, bean, Indian-corn, potato, and with sulphate of lime, alum, etc. Milk was usually adulterated with water. The adulterations generally present in butter consisted of an undue proportion of salt and water, lard, tallow, and other fats; when of poor quality it was frequently coloured with a little annatto, and, at times, with the juice of carrots. Genuine butter should not contain less than 80 percent of butter-fat. Cheese was also coloured with annatto and other substances. Tea was adulterated chiefly in China with sand, iron-filings, chalk, gypsum, Chinaclay, exhausted tea leaves, and the leaves of the sycamore, horse-chestnut, and plum, whilst colour and weight were added by black-lead, indigo, Prussian-blue (one of the deleterious ingredients used by the Chinese in converting the lowest qualities of black into green teas), gum, turmeric, soapstone, catechu, and other substances.
Confections were adulterated with flour and sulphate of lime. Preserved vegetables were kept green and poisoned by salts of copper. The acridity of mustard is commonly reduced by flour, and the colour of the compound is improved by turmeric. Pepper was adulterated with linseed-meal, flour, mustard husks, etc. Colour was given to pickles by salts of copper, acetate of copper, etc. Ale was adulterated with common salt, Cocculus Indicus, grains of paradise, quassia, and other bitters, sulphate of iron, alum, etc. Porter and stout were mixed with sugar, treacle, salt, and an excess of water. Brandy was diluted with water, and burned sugar was added to improve the colour; sometimes bad whisky was flavoured and coloured so as to resemble brandy, and sold under its name.
Gin was mixed with excess of water, and flavouring matters of various kinds, with alum and tartar, were added. Rum was diluted with water, and the flavour and colour kept up by the addition of cayenne and burned sugar. For champagnegooseberry and other inferior wines were often substituted. Port was manufactured from red Cape and other inferior wines, the body, flavour, strength, and colour being produced by gum-dragon, the washings of brandy casks, and a preparation of German bilberries. Cheap brown sherry was mixed with Cape and other low-priced brandies, and was flavoured with the washings of brandy casks, sugar-candy, and bitter almonds. Pale sherries were produced by gypsum, by a process called plastering, which removes the natural acids as well as the colour of the wine. Other wines were adulterated with elderberry, logwood, Brazil-wood, cudbear, red beetroot, etc, for colour; with lime or carbonate of lime, carbonate of soda, carbonate of potash, and litharge, to correct acidity; with catechu, sloe-leaves, and oak-bark for astringency; with sulphate of lime and alum for removing colour; with cane-sugar for giving sweetness and body; with alcohol for fortifying; and with ether, especially acetic ether, for giving bouquet and flavour.
Medicines, such as jalap, opium, rhubarb, cinchonabark, scammony, aloes, sarsaparilla, squills, etc, were mixed with various foreign substances. Castor-oil has been adulterated with other oils; and inferior oils were often. mixed with cod-liver oil. Cantharides were often mixed with golden-beetle and also artificially-coloured glass.
The adulteration of seeds was largely practised also, the seed which forms the adulterant being of course of the most worthless kind that can be had. Thus turnip-seed was mixed with rape, wild mustard, or charlock, which are steamed and kiln-dried to destroy their vitality, so as to evade detection in the progress of growth; old and useless turnip-seed was also used fraudulently mixed with fresh seeds. Clover was also much mixed with plantain and mere weeds.
Acts against adulteration have been passed in various countries and at various times. In Britain there was a law against it as early as 1267. Research Adulteration
Bever days were a former custom at Eton college on which extra bread and beer were served during the afternoon in the College Hall to scholars and their friends they brought in. Research Bever Day
Bread was a British situation comedytelevision show following the daily lives of a fictional poverty stricken Liverpool Catholic family. Bread was created by Carla Lane and produced by the BBC. Bread ran from 1986 to 1991. Research Bread
The Bread Riots were a series of riots that took place in New York during the financial panic of 1837 which saw prices rise enormously. Rents were exorbitant and flour was twelve dollars a barrel. During February and March the poor of New York held frequent riotous meetings which culminated in violent assaults upon flour warehouses, on several instances the warehouses being opened and the crowd helping themselves. The disturbances were quelled by militia. Research Bread Riots
Among the Romans, a circus was a nearly rectangular building without a roof, in which public chariot-races and exhibitions of pugilism and wrestling, etc, took place. It was rectangular, except that one short side formed a half-circle; and on both sides, and on the semicircular end, were the seats of the spectators, rising gradually one above another, like steps. On the outside the circus was surrounded with colonnades, galleries, shops, and public places. The largest of these buildings in Rome was the Circus Maximus, capable, according to Pliny, of containing 260,000, and according to Aurelius Victor, 385,000 spectators. At present, however, but few vestiges of it remain, and the circus of Caracalla is in the best preservation. The games celebrated in these structures were known collectively by the name of ludi circenses, circensian games, or games of the circus, which under the emperors attained the greatest magnificence.
The principal games of the circus were the ludi Romani or magni (Roman or Great Games), which were celebrated from the 4th to the 14th of September, in honour of the great gods, so called. The passion of the common or poorer class of people for these shows appears from the cry with which they addressed their rulers - panem et circenses (bread and the games!). The festival was opened by a splendid procession, or pompa, in which the magistrates, senate, priests, augurs, vestal virgins, and athletes, took part, carrying with them the images of the great gods, the Sibylline books, and sometimes the spoils of war. On reaching the circus the procession went round once in a circle, the sacrifices were performed, the spectators took their places, and the games commenced. These were:
1. Races with horses and chariots, in which men of the highest rank engaged.
2. The gymnastic contests.
3. The Trojan games, prize contests on horseback, revived by Julius Caesar.
4. The combats with wild beasts, in which beasts fought with beasts or with men (criminals or volunteers).
5. Representations of naval engagements (naumachioe), for which purpose the circus could be laid under water.
The expense of these games was often immense. Pompey, in his second consulship, brought forward 500 lions at one combat of wild beasts, which, with eighteen elephants, were slain in five days.
The modern circus is a place where horses and wild animals are trained to perform antics, and where exhibitions of acrobats and various pageantries, including a large amount of buffoonery, are presented. Research Circus
Consubstantiation (otherwise Impanation), is the supernatural union of the body of Christ with the sacramental elements, according to the Lutherans and others, who maintain that, after the consecration of the elements, the body and blood of Christ are substantially present with the substance of the bread and wine. Research Consubstantiation
In Saxon times, corsned was a piece of bread consecrated by exorcism, to be swallowed by any person suspected of a crime. If guilty, it was expected that the swallower would fall into convulsions, or turn deadly pale, and that the bread would find no passage. If innocent, it was believed the morsel would turn to nourishment. Research Corsned
A credence table was a 'tasting' table used in Italy at a time when attempts to poison princes and nobles was a common practice. Today a credence table is a small table in a church by the side of the altar on which the bread and wine are placed ready for the Eucharist. Research Credence Table
A footman was a domestic servant. During the 18th century, pompous and grand-looking footmen strutting through the streets of London caused some degree of resentment among the ordinary population who termed them 'fart catchers', and dismissed them as little more than fashion accessories showing off the wealth of their employers. However, Mrs Beeton helpfully describes the duties of the footman to those starting a household in 1860 as:
Where a single footman, or odd man, is the only male servant, then, whatever his ostensible position, he is required to make himself generally useful. He has to clean the knives and shoes, the furniture, the plate [silver plated metal objects]; answer the visitors who call, the drawing-room and parlour bells; and do all the errands. His life is no sinecure; and a methodical arrangement of his time will be necessary, in order to perform his many duties with any satisfaction to himself or his master.
The footman is expected to rise early, in order to get through all his dirty work before the family are stirring. Boots and shoes, and knives and forks, should be cleaned, lamps in use trimmed, his master's clothes brushed, the furniture rubbed over; so that he may put aside his working dress, tidy himself, and appear in a clean jacket, to lay the cloth and prepare breakfast for the family... He lays the cloth on the table; over it the breakfast-cloth, and sets the breakfast things in order, and then proceeds to wait upon his master, if he has any of the duties of a valet to perform.
Where a valet is not kept, a portion of his duties falls to the footman's share - brushing the clothes among others. If the footman is required to perform any part of a valet's duties, he will have to see that the housemaid lights a fire in the dressing-room in due time; that the room is dusted and cleaned; that the washhand-ewer is filled with soft water; and that the bath whether hot or cold, is ready when required; that towels are at hand; that hairbrushes and combs are properly cleansed and in their places; that hot water is ready at the hour ordered; the dressing-gown and slippers in their place, the clean linen aired, and the clothes to be worn for the day in their proper places. After the master has dressed, it will be the footman's duty to restore everything to its place properly cleansed and dry, and the whole restored to order.
At breakfast, when there is no butler, the footman carries up the tea-urn, and, assisted by the housemaid, he waits during breakfast. Breakfast over, he removes the tray and other things off the table, folds up the breakfast-cloth, and sets the room in order, by sweeping up all crumbs, shaking the cloth, and laying it on the table again, making up the fire, and sweeping up the hearth.
At luncheon-time nearly the same routine is observed, except where the footman is either out with the carriage or away on other business, when, in the absence of any butler, the housemaid must assist.
For dinner, the footman lays the cloth, taking care that the table is not too near the fire, if there is one, and that passage-room is left. A table-cloth should be laid without a wrinkle; and this requires two persons; over this the slips are laid, which are usually removed preparatory to placing dessert on the table. He prepares knives, forks, and glasses, with five or six plates for each person. This done, he places chairs enough for the party, distributing them equally on each side of the table, and opposite to each a napkin neatly folded within it a piece of bread or small roll, and a knife on the right side of each plate, a fork on the left, and a carving-knife and fork at the top and bottom of the table, outside the others, with the rests opposite to them, and a gravy-spoon beside the knife. The fish-slice should be at the top, where the lady of the house with the assistance of the gentleman next to her, divides the fish, and the soup-ladle at the bottom: it is sometimes usual to add a desert-knife and fork; at the same time , on the right side also of each plate, put a wine-glass for as many kinds of wine as it is intended to hand round, and a finger-glass or glass-cooler about four inches [nine centimetres] from the edge. The latter are frequently put on the table with the dessert.
About half an hour before dinner, he rings the dinner-bell, where that is the practice, and occupies himself with carrying up everything he is likely to require. At the expiration of the time, having communicated with the cook, he rings the real dinner-bell, and proceeds to take it up with such assistance as he can obtain. Having ascertained that all is in order, that his own dress is clean and presentable, and his white cotton gloves are without a stain, he announces in the drawing-room that dinner is served, and stands respectfully by the door until the company are seated: he places himself on the left, behind his master, who is to distribute the soup; where soup and fish are served together, his place will be at his mistress's left hand; but he must be on the alert to see that whoever is assisting him, whether male or female, are at their posts. If any of the guests has brought his own servant with him, his place is behind his master's chair, rendering such assistance to others as he can, while attending to his master's wants throughout the dinner, so that every guest has what he requires. This necessitates both activity and intelligence, and should be done without bustle, without asking any questions, except where it is the custom of the house to hand round dishes or wine, when it will be necessary to mention, in a quiet and unobtrusive manner, the dish or wine you present.
When required to go out with the carriage, it is the footman's duty to see that it has come to the door perfectly clean, and that the glasses and sashes, and linings are free from dust. In receiving messages at the carriage door, he should turn his ear to the speaker, so as to comprehend what is said, in order that he may give his directions to the coachman clearly. When the house he is to call at is reached, he should knock, and return to the carriage for orders. In closing the door upon the family, he should see that the handle is securely turned, and that no part of the ladies' dress is shut in.
It is the footman's duty to carry messages or letters for his master or mistress to their friends, to the post, or to the tradespeople; and nothing is more important than dispatch and exactness in doing so, although writing even the simplest message is now the ordinary and very proper practice.
In addition, footmen were also required to reserve seats in the family's box at the theatre, awaiting the arrival of the family. To lay out and wait at table for evening receptions and games of cards. To open and close doors behind visitors and to announce visitors upon directing them into the drawing room where the master or mistress awaited. Research Footman
A knife is a cutting instrument, which in its simplest form comprises a blade with one long edge sharpened, fitted into a handle. A typical household knife is comprised of a blade, fitted into a handle separated by a bolster, and may be of one of three basic designs: back pointed, cutting edge pointed or tip pointed, with a smooth, scalloped or serrated cutting edge, all of which are suited to varying tasks. Scalloped edged blades are suited for cutting soft food which have a hard or firm peel such as bread or bacon. Serrated edged blades perform with a sawing action and facilitate a first cut and are suitable for cutting soft and tough foods such as tomatoes and also cooked steaks. Research Knife
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Adulteration
