that there were two kinds of ginger lozenges kept for sale, the
one at three-pence the ounce, and the other at six-pence per ounce; and
that the article furnished to me by mistake was the cheaper commodity:
the latter were distinguished by the epithet _verum_, they being
composed of sugar and ginger only; but the former were manufactured
partly of white Cornish clay, with a portion of sugar only, with ginger
and Guinea pepper. I was likewise informed, that of Tolu lozenges,
peppermint lozenges and ginger pearls, and several other sorts of
lozenges, two kinds were kept; that the _reduced_ articles, as they were
called, were manufactured for those very clever persons in their own
conceit, who are fond of haggling, and insist on buying better bargains
than other people, shutting their eyes to the defects of an article, so
that they can enjoy the delight of getting it cheap; and, secondly for
those persons, who being but bad paymasters, yet, as the manufacturer,
for his own credit's sake, cannot charge more than the usual price of
the articles, he thinks himself therefore authorised to adulterate it in
value, to make up for the risk he runs, and the long credit he must
give."

The comfits called ginger pearls, are frequently adulterated with clay.
These frauds may be detected in the manner stated, page 225.

FOOTNOTES:

[113] Literary Gazette, No. 146.

_Poisonous Olive Oil._

This commodity is sometimes contaminated with lead, because the fruit
which yields the oil is submitted to the action of the press between
leaden plates; and it is, moreover, a practice (particularly in Spain)
to suffer the oil to become clear in leaden cisterns, before it is
brought to market for sale. The French and Italian olive oil is usually
free from this impregnation.

Olive oil is sometimes mixed with oil of poppy seeds: but, by exposing
the mixture to the freezing temperature, the olive oil freezes, while
that of the poppy seeds remains fluid; and as oils which freeze with
most difficulty are most apt to become rancid, olive oil is deteriorated
by the mixture of poppy oil.

Good olive oil should have a pale yellow colour, somewhat inclining to
green; a bland taste, without smell; and should congeal at 38 deg.
Fahrenheit. In this country, it is frequently met with rancid.

The presence of lead is detected by shaking, in a stopped vial, one part
of the suspected oil, with two or three parts of water impregnated with
sulphure