Note 580 — OF THE ADULTERATION OF FOOD.

The following are the more usual additions made by the publican; beer-heading, which is intended to impart the “cauliflower head,” and consists of sulphate of iron, common salt, and alum, for which several convictions have taken place, (Minutes of the Committee, above cited); it is necessary to observe that the addition of this “heading” is made with a view to restore the property of frothing to the porter, which has been destroyed by dilution with table beer. The extract of the berries of the Coculus Indicus, possessing properties eminently narcotic, is added for a purpose too obvious to require explanation, and is regularly sold by the brewer’s druggists under the technical appellation of “BLACK EXTRACT.” There is also another preparation, for a similar object, sold under the name of “BITTERN,” and which is a compound of black extract, extract of quassia, Spanish liquorice, and calcined sulphate of iron. “Multum,” used as a substitute for malt and hops, consists of Extract of Quassia, and Liquorice. We must close this note by expressing our regret at the little assistance to be derived from chemistry in the detection of such frauds; mineral substances, as sulphate of iron, or any of the mineral acids, can certainly be recognised in our laboratories; but when we attempt to identify vegetable principles, the resources of analysis completely fail.