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One or two matters of perhaps more than usual interest have engaged
attention during the year—
Grain.—
In May I visited two wharves in Rotherhithe Street and
found about 700 tons of grain (barley and oats) stored in bags on these
premises. The premises were totally unsuitable for the purpose and
had been packed so tightly with the bags that doors were opened with
difficulty, and when the door was opened, the grain spilled out on the
ground. There was no proper room for inspection or ventilation,
and in the case of one of the sheds, the roof was right open to the sky,
and some grain bags were actually stored in the open with grain
scattered all over the ground, sprouting in places. In one of the
warehouses the smell of mice was noticeable; in another one, loose
grain lying on the ground exhibited rat droppings in considerable
numbers. A "stop" was placed on the grain which was eventually
disposed of for animal feeding purposes.
Silver Balls.—
"Silver balls" commonly used for cake decorations are
ordinarily coated with silver. A sample taken during the year
disclosed the fact that the coating was of powdered aluminium and not
of silver. The coating on each ball contained, on the average, 0.31
milligrammes of aluminium; the aluminium coating is not nearly so
attractive in appearance as silver coating and as the object of the
coating is solely decoration it does not appear to be likely that
aluminium will soon replace silver though, of course, it is cheaper.
Shelled Walnuts. —
In September, a consignment of shelled walnuts from
Italy, consisting of 60 cases, was received at Butler's Mill.
These walnuts were alive with moth and had been stored in such conditions
that the metamorphosis of the moth had been completed—
that is, the egg had been laid in the walnut flower, hatched into maggot,
and transformed into chrysalis from which the moth had emerged.
The consignment was valued at more than £300, and efforts were made
to save as much as possible. The nuts were fumigated and then
screened to get rid of dead moth, powdered walnuts, and other residue.
The remainder was then hand brushed and hand picked, and repacked
into 86 new cartons with greaseproof paper linings, each carton containing
30 lbs. Butler's Mill were successful in cleaning these nuts
and, after very careful examination, the remainder were considered to
be fit for human consumption and were released.