The best quality of Tuscan olive oil is imported in London in casks,
bottled there, and bears the name of the importers alone on the label.
There is no difficulty in procuring in England the best Tuscan oil,
which nothing produced elsewhere can surpass; but consumers who wish
to get, and are willing to pay for, the best article must look to the
name and reputation of the importers and the general excellence of all
the articles they sell, which is the best guarantee they can have of
quality.
* * * * *
BEESWAX AND ITS ADULTERATIONS.
Beeswax is a peculiar waxy substance secreted only by bees, and
consisting of 80.2 per cent. carbon, 13.4 per cent. hydrogen, and 6.4
per cent. oxygen. It is a mixture of myricine, cerotic acid, and
cerolein, the first of which is insoluble in boiling alcohol, the
second is soluble in hot alcohol and crystallizes out on cooling,
while the third remains dissolved in cold alcohol.
Although we are unable to produce real beeswax artificially, there are
many imitations which are made use of to adulterate the genuine
article, and their detection is a matter of considerable difficulty.
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