Tenth annual convention of the Association of State and National Food and Dairy Departments, held at Hartford, Connecticut, July 17-20, 1906.

  • Association of State and National Food and Dairy Departments 1906 : Hartford, Connecticut)
Date:
1907
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Tenth annual convention of the Association of State and National Food and Dairy Departments, held at Hartford, Connecticut, July 17-20, 1906. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    119/366 (page 109)
    THE THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL VALUE OF SO-CALLED HOUSEHOLD TESTS FOR THE DETECTION OF ADULTERATIONS IN FOODS. By Professor Julius Hortvet, Chemist, Dairy and Food Department, . Minnesota. I seldom read an article dealing with popular science or with some subject or branch of science from a popular standpoint, and when I read such an article it is apt to be with a feeling of partial dissatisfaction. This is especially true in subjects re- lating to chemistry or physics, the special branches of science with which I am somewhat acquainted, and if I read a popular article on some subject as geology or astronomy or on anything known as natural history, these questions arise in my mind: How many of these statements may not be true? Is the public good really advanced by such statements of partial truths or obvious fictions in order to bring the subject-matter down to the plane of the average reader? Is it not a serious question whether science shall continue to be written down instead of being written up? Not infrequently do I read some protest against misrepresentations of science or nature in the popular magazines and newspapers. During recent months we have noticed an un- usual number of articles on volcanoes and earthquakes, and while some of these articles have been written by men of undoubted au- thority and have borne the mark of the genuine, there have been many of the kind which have shown a too decided tendency to cater to the popular demand for fiction. There has long been a popular interest in science, but there are reasons for raising the question whether such interest often rises much above the plane of mere curiosity. The popular demand has been chiefly for re- sults, not so much for the knowledge of the means by which the results have been achieved. People want the facts, the general