The rulings by which the foods in the table were judged, I shall take up in detail later. Our law states that the standard of food products shall be that of the United States department of agriculture, but, as at present the department has not published standards for but few goods and until they do, we have made certain rulings to facilitate the enforcement of the law according to the provisions of Section XVIII. of the Act 143. These rulings are based on special laws passed in other states where they have proved to be of value and from the United States pharmacopoeia.

Education of the people and honest labelling are in my mind the foundations of a systematic campaign for pure and wholesome foods. We must instruct the people what goods are of standard quality, for very few of our necessary foods contain anything injurious to health except in the case of antiseptics and coloring matters, which class of substances I will take up later on, and how they are being defrauded from a financial standpoint. Then, when goods are honestly labelled, the consumers may buy what they desire without being deceived or defrauded. Certain manufacturers say "the people never look at the label, why put on the names of the constittents." Why not, I ask, if there is nothing present that they are ashamed of. Certainly the wornout phrase "Absolutely Pure" means nothing to most manufacturers, but when goods are correctly labelled and the people learn the label reading habit, it will mean that the consumers will have a chance to buy what they want. Many popular fancies form the basis of many claims of the manufacturers regarding adulterations. "The people call for it," they say when they are called upon to stop coloring certain foods. Would the consumers call for it if they knew that the coloring was only a scheme to make the goods appear of better quality than they really are? Facts of this kind must be brought before the people and then let them decide themselves what they want by being able to judge the contents of a package from its label.

Dr. Wiley in an address before the Philadelphia County Medical Society says, "I believe the application of the principle of honesty would be the best food law that could be enacted. If I were to write a food law in one sentence, it would be that nothing unwholesome should be added to foods and that every food product should be marked and be exactly what it is said to be." This is a bit higher ideal than we can expect to attain at present but when we have the package so marked that the people know what they are buying, we are accomplishing something that will lessen deception and fraud.

PRESERVATIVES AND COLORING Matter.

I will not speak of the harmfulness of these products as Professor White will discuss in detail this phase of the subject, but I will consider mainly why they are put in. The main reason for the use of both of these articles is to cover up inferiority. The manufacturers claim in many cases that the people demand them. Why? let us ask. Because they now have a taste created by use of these colors and are accustomed to seeing them. They surely

make some foods more attractive as they cover up deception by making goods appear better than they really are. Let us educate the people to demand uncolored foods. Again quoting from Dr. Wiley, "I do not believe it is a good thing for us to eat continuously even a small quantity of colors which may be regarded as harmless. They are not foods, are not as a rule, digestible and have no relation to the chlorophyll and its derivatives which are the natural coloring matter of vegetable life. The rights of the consumer are paramount concerning the uses of antiseptics in foods. Any one has a right to eat anything he pleases but he has no right to make another person eat the same thing. Foods should be labelled so that the purchaser is notified of coloring matter and preservatives. There also ought to be an opportunity to buy foods that are not preserved." Certain manufacturers claim that the usage of such small quantities of preservatives is beneficial by preventing any development causing ptomaines but whether this is or is not so, surely the label should so state the presence of the preservative in order that delicate or sickly people may not buy them unknowingly. Our ruling does not allow goods containing preservatives to be sold in this state and while we are given permission to issue permits for the use of such preservatives as are not detrimental to health, I do not think it wise at the present state of experimentation with these products to modify the ruling. If the bureau of chemistry of the department of agriculture determines that certain preservatives are not harmful, then it will be time to allow their use but while the question is still an open one, it is best to be on the safe side.

MAPLE PRODUCTS.

We have examined forty-six samples of these goods when first placed on the market this season, but have not collected any samples of bottled goods put out by the bottling houses and which are more apt to be suspected of adulteration. I suppose that there is little use in talking much about maple products to Vermonters. You all know more about the manufacture of this product than I do, so all I will say is regarding its adulteration. Vermont, the first state in the Union in the production of maple goods, should take some steps towards making the name "Pure Vermont Maple Sugar or Syrup" mean just what it says. At present it is a trade name used by dealers everywhere and it brings the name of the state into disfavor. This commodity is not a necessity but a luxury and as such can call for a good price and help our people financially. We can stop the sale of adulterated goods here in the state, but it should bring a blush of shame to our cheeks to see published in food reports of other states adulterated maple goods bearing the name and address of Vermont packers of "Pure Maple Goods." The day is past, thanks to the good work done at our experiment station, when granulated sugar and syrup of the same can be dumped into maple goods without detection. Let us use the honest label on this product and see to it that nothing is sent out of Vermont which is not correctly labelled.

BAKING POWDERS.

These articles have no food value in themselves, but are simply used for the purpose of bringing about by chemical means the aeration of bread, cake, etc., by means of a gas. They consist of an acid and an alkaline constituent and are prevented from deterioration by the addition of some inert material such as starch. The alkaline principle of nearly all baking powders is bicarbonate of soda while the acid principle is one of three classes from which the powders derive their names, viz.: Tartrate powders containing potassium bitartrate or tartaric acid, phosphate powders in which calcium acid phosphate is the acid principle, and alum powders containing for an acid principle sulphate of aluminum, in potash or ammonia alum or in the mixed sulphates of aluminum and sodium. Besides these there are mixtures of complex composition of the three main classes. The adulteration of baking powders is a question that is subject to much controversy. I will not dwell upon the merits of the various kinds which are so beautifully pictured by their promotors nor on the harmfulness of the brands of their competitors as the question of the wholesomeness of these articles is still an open one. We do not consider this in our ruling, but regard the correct labelling and stating the constituents as placing no hardship on the maker and as the value of a product of this kind depends on the amount of gas, we ask that the powder give ten per cent of its weight of Co2 on boiling with water. Three of the eighteen samples examined were below the standard in Co', while eight were not correctly labelled, not having labels bearing the names of the ingredients. The following resolutions have just come to my hand and they agree with our rulings.

The following resolutions regarding the standard for baking powder and method of labelling were adopted at the annual convention of the state dairy and food departments at their St. Louis meeting:

"Resolved, 1. That all baking powders shall be free from deleterious, injurious or unwholesome substances.

"Resolved, 2. That they shall contain no substances which are not necessary thereto as active agents except starch or sugar, which are recognized as essential and necessary.

"Resolved, 3. That certain rigorous or fixed standards be recommended which shall determine the minimum amount of carbonic acid gas.

"Resolved, 4. That all packages shall bear a correct statement of their composition in plain, legible type and language easily understood by the average purchaser and consumer and also the name and address of the manufacturer or purchaser.

"Resolved, 5. That no package shall bear any statement which will deceive or tend to deceive the purchaser."

CATSUPS.

These have not received our attention as yet, but judging from reports from other states, most of them are preserved and colored. This is a case

where the people have the habit of thinking a red color adds to the value of the product. Who ever saw homemade catsup have anything but a brownish color and why need anything better than the homemade standard. Still if the consumers desire them colored and preserved, let it be stated on the label to protect those of us who do not care for it. The cheaper varieties of catsups are made from fermented and inferior materials and it is largely for this reason that antiseptics and coloring matters are so commonly employed in the commercial brands.

FLAVORING EXTRACTS.

Considering the large sale of these goods, there is probably no class of food products more grossly adulterated. Vanilla and lemon are the most important of these preparations. For both of these, our standard is taken from the United States pharmacopoeia.

A true vanilla extract is made by mascerating vanilla beans with sugar and extracting the mass with dilute alcohol. The commercial extracts are allowed to age in wood before being put upon the market. Glycerine is sometimes used in place of sugar but this is of little importance where the proper quantity of good quality vanilla beans are used and sufficient strength grain alcohol to remove all the flavoring ingredients of the beans. Many varieties of vanilla beans are on the market varying in price from $1 to $15 per pound.

The adulteration of vanilla extract consists in substituting wholly or in part the inferior and cheaper tonka bean for extraction, or the addition of solutions of artificial coumarin and vanillin to weak extracts, or a totally artificial product colored with coal tar dye or caramel is sold for the real article. A pure vanilla extract has a dark red brown color and a characteristic sweet fragrant odor. The leading fragrant principle of vanilla bean and of true vanilla extract is vanillin, a definite chemical compound, but certain resins and other extractive matters soluble in alcohol are needed to give the fragrance, color and food value of the true vanilla extract. An extract made from tonka has a characteristic odor and is useful for flavoring purposes, but on account of its cheapness it should not be substituted for or sold as vanilla extract. Extracts containing synthetic vanillin, tonka or coloring matter must be so marked and shall not be labelled pure extract of vanilla or any wording to that effect to be legally sold under our law. All flavoring extracts must bear the name and address of the maker.

The extract, spirit or essence of lemon of the United States pharmacopoeia is a five per cent solution, by volume, of oil of lemon, in a strong ethyl alcohol, together with the flavoring, coloring and other extractive matters of the lemon peel. Extracts made according to the United States pharmacopoeia formula have nothing to be desired and are generally accepted as a standard of purity and strength for commercial extracts. Lemon oil is obtained by various processes from the fresh peel of the ordinary lemon and is produced principally in the countries of Southern Europe bordering on the

Mediterranean Sea. Lemon peel, as is implied by the name, is the rind of the ordinary lemon. It has a fragrant odor and a peculiar bitter, aromatic taste and is essential in the preparation of the best extract. While lemon oil is expensive, the most costly ingredient of lemon extract is the alcohol and makers seeking to reduce the cost of preparation look to some method of using less alcohol. But lemon oil is not soluble in water or dilute alcohol and is thrown out of solution by the addition of water. To get around this difficulty the makers have used the so-called terpenless extract. This may be explained as follows: Lemon oil is not a simple substance but a combination of several ingredients, the exact nature of all of which is not known, but all of which are needed to produce the delicate flavor and aroma characteristic of lemon. A very small proportion of the combination is the aldehyde citral which is recognized as the chief odor bearer of the oil. This, the manufacturer of the terpenless extracts seeks to extract by churning the oil with dilute alcohol and finally coloring the product to imitate the true color. The product thus obtained has a strong odor but the odor of the citral is very plain and distinct and is not the fragrant combination of lemon oil. The United States pharmacopoeia standard is not too high as is shown by the fact that there are several commercial brands on the market which exceed it, but most of the cheap varieties of lemon extracts on the market are very poor imitations of the true United States pharmacopoeia extract and some do not even contain lemon oil. We have not found any extracts that contained methyl (wood) alcohol, but reports from the western states show that this criminal practice has been used there.

The miscellaneous flavoring extracts are of many kinds, most of which are purely artificial and should be so marked on the label.

FRUITS, JELLIES, JAMS, ETC.

These have not been examined as yet but our ruling is as follows: Fruit jellies, fruit butters, preserves, canned fruits, fruit conserves, confections, fruit juices and syrups, etc., must consist of the fruit specified on the label, preserved only with cane sugar, with or without the addition of glucose and must not contain artificial flavors, coloring matters, or preservatives. If such articles contain any substitute for the fruit or any injurious material to make up bulk or weight, any artificial flavor, color or antiseptic, or any substance not naturally occurring in such fruits except spices or other wholesome natural flavoring materials, they shall be considered to be adulterated. We suppose the cheaper brands will correspond to the grades found in other states and therefore will not comply with our law.

MILK.

We have not undertaken any systematic examination of milk as yet. There is no reason here in this state why milk should be anything but pure, and later on the milk supplies of the larger towns and cities will have our atten