Such a warranty—which may be an invoice—will not be available as a defence unless the defendant has within seven days after service of the summons sent a copy thereof to the purchaser with a written notice that ho intends to rely thereon, and specifying the name and address of the person from whom he received it, and has also sent a like notice of his intention to such person. To forgo a certificate or warranty, wilfully misapply a warranty to the wrong articles, give a false warranty or label, obstruct an officer, or to commit any of the offences under these Acts by personal act, default, or culpable negligence, are each of them offences punishable with imprisonment or fines as the case may be. A limited company is liable, like an individual, to punishment (Chute). v. Freeth. and Pocock). Summary proceedings under these Acts do not bar a purchaser from his remedies for damages ; and in an action for breach of contract a purchaser who has become an offender thereunder may add any penalties and costs ho may have suffered. Generally : In cases of adulteration of spirits, it is a good defence to prove that the admixture has nut reduced the spirit more than 25 degrees under proof for brandy, whisky, or rum, or 35 degrees under proof for gin.
Some special cases : YEAST mixed with a certain proportion of starch as a preservative, is not considered to be adulterated. LARD should properly bo made from hog fat only, and not contain more than a few tenths per cent. of water. The mixing of beef stoarine with lard for stiffening purposes is appre ciated by the public, while no question has been raised as to the wholesomeness of the compound. Such addition has, however, been regarded as adulteration, within the meaning of the Acts, and owing to the prosecutions which have taken place, makers have been led to discard the addition of beef stearin°. JAM.—At Sittingbourno a grocer was summoned for selling as plum jam a compound which consisted of a mixture of plum and apple. The. inspector asked for Stcor's plum jam, and the defendant contended that he got what was asked for, and that being sold under the above name it need not necessarily be composed of plum only. The magistrates, however, thought otherwise, and the grocer was fined. CHOCOLATE
is an admittedly manufactured article, including it may be, besides flavouring in gredients, sugar, and farina as an absorbent for oil. At Teignmouth a grocer was summoned for selling adulterated chocolate, which was proved to consist of a mixture of cocoa, sugar and arrowroot. The magistrates refused to convict, as they were not satisfied of what chocolate ought really to consist, and thought there was no definite and recognised formula for its manufacture. COCOA is made in three principal forms—pure, with the addition of sugar and a farinaceous substance ; " extract " or • essence" being the residue after the expression of the natural oil ; and " Dutch " made by the alkaline process. The Select Committee, were of opinion that the sale of cocoa prepared as above without any notice of admixture would be an infringement of tie Acts. The High Court, however, took a different view in Reyiva v. field.,, where a Gosport grocer having sold a packet of cocoa contaitang 80 per cent, of starch and sugar was fortunate enough to appear before a bench of justices, all retired naval officers, who had a large experience of cocoa, which forms a regular ration in the navy. He was still more fortunate, in that, on appeal, the justices were MIJSTARD.—Many persons having a preference for diluted mustard, such mustard is generally described as 7nustard condiment; which designation alone can save a prosecution. WINE.—There has been no prosecution in respect of foreign wine. A summons taken out against a chemist ak Salfoiqr, who sold un fermented wine containing only 10 per cent. of grape-juice, was dismissed on the ground that there was no standard as to the amount of grape juice wine should contain, am? further, that the presence of the 10 per cent. proved that this 'ar ticular wine was made from water. DRUGS depend for a standard, in practice, upon the "British Pharmacopccia." PEPPER is rarely adulterated, sand being the usual foreign element, as the result of accident. Black pepper, however, is some times mixed with ground pepper husks. 3.27 per cent. is a reasonable margin for the presence of unavoidable sandy matter.