MALT EXTRACTS.

True malt extract is a syrupy fluid made by extracting and digesting coarsely powdered malt with water and evaporating the strained liquid to the consistency of thick syrup. Such an extract contains at least 70 per cent. of maltose and converts starch very rapidly. At the present there are on the market a very large number of so-called malt extracts which are widely advertised as a tonic and nonintoxicating malt food. These extracts are, for the most part, simply heavy beers, containing considerable quantities of alcohol and extract and no diastase. Two of the three samples of so-called malt extract examined contained 5 per cent. of alcohol each and 8 per cent. and over of extract, largely maltose. In other respects the samples were merely heavy beers. The third sample analyzed was of quite different composition, being low in alcohol and high in extract.

WINES.

American wines are rapidly becoming known for their excellent qualities and are competing with European brands for a reputation. That there are many imitation wines on the market has been common knowledge, but the most pessimistic observer would hardly wish to concede that more than 50 per cent. of the cheap wines never saw a grape. The results of the analyses of 20 samples of wines purchased at drug stores and grocery stores show this to be a fact. The first seven samples analyzed were wholly artificial products. They were made by soaking fruits, possibly raisins, fortifying the extracts with 12 to 15 per cent. of alcohol, adding large quantities of glucose, in one instance over 20 per cent., and in addition sweetening with saccharin to further develop the sweet taste. These samples contain salicylic acid and benzoate of soda as well as the saccharin, which is of itself a preservative. Evidently the original maker used a preservative to stop fermentation, and then the bottler used some more preservative of a different character to keep the goods after they had left his hands. The two blackberry cordials examined were entirely artificial, and consisted of glucose syrup colored with coal-tar dye and preserved with salicylic acid and benzoate of soda, flavored with synthetic flavors to counterfeit the missing blackberry. Wine has been adulterated for 2,000 years, but the harvest time of the manufacturer of artificial goods is evidently the present. An attractively labeled bottle marked "Purity Guaranteed," and filled with a decoction of salicylic acid, benzoate of soda, saccharin, glucose, grain alcohol, synthetic flavors, glycerine, coal-tar dye and water, meets a ready sale as pure California port or sherry, depending upon the aromatic employed.

Samples Nos. 1782, 1783, 1784, 3548, 3788, 5789 and 3790 are evidently grape products of a fair degree of purity, although of poor quality. Most of them contain either saccharin or some preservative which necessitates their being classed as illegal.

Samples Nos. 3787, 3791 and 3792 are evidently pure and free from any preservatives or saccharin,

3787 Alameda
Zinfandel..

3791 Sonoma
Sherry.
3792 Alameda
Burgundy.

.9033 13.9

11.03 1.0031:

11.0

2.56.2000

1:

7.4.744.132.242|1:3.07.150.180.0752|

.9912 20.52 16 28
.9926 13.34 10 58

.8711: 18.7 3.75 .2720 1: 6.4.567.276.2211:2.5.000|.022|.1504 .914 1: 11.6 2.17 .2400 1: 5.2.720.348.298|1:2.4 |.120.164.1103

WINES-ILLEGAL.

.148 1:100.0 15.06.1552 1: 5.8.444.240.163|1:2.7 .002|.029|.0677 .993 1: 14.5 4.60 .2400 1: 8.2.504:306 .158 1:3.1.072.112.1053 -1.0

.0006.0263 .0175 1.202 14.151.2418].0008|.0321.0175.033 0.10 2.631.3334.0007.0476.0857.033 0.07

GINGER ALES.

Ginger ale is a nonalcoholic beverage made by carbonating a dilute solution of extract of ginger, sugar and some simple acid in water. It is a pleasant and refreshing beverage when properly prepared. The formula employed and the method of preparation varies greatly with the different manufacturers. Examination of the analyses shows very little uniformity of composition. The amount of residue on evaporation varies from 3 to 20 per cent. and the sucrose content from nothing to 8.44 per cent. Since a sweet drink is desired, many of the manufacturers resort to the use of saccharin to develop this taste, since saccharin is much less expensive than sugar and is not fermentable but is in itself a preservative. The use of saccharin is condemned by most medical authorities and all food experts. It was formerly much used by canners and packers of vegetables, such as tomatoes, sweet corn, etc., but at the present time it is no longer employed by reputable manufacturers. It has no place in the manufacture of a summer drink and its use should be discontinued. One sample was preserved with salicylic acid and one was colored with dinitrocresol.