পাতা:অনাথবন্ধু.pdf/৬৪৬

444' that this business cannot bé anything than unsavoury. It is this collection of carcasses which necessitates the platform being far renoved from human habitations as the method of disposal does not itself add to the nuisance otherwise existing. The following is a brief description of the processes adopted-the carcasses are laid out on a cemented platform situated outside one end of the building. This is properly drained to an underground and covered cesspool which is periodically emptied into the adjoining outfall sewer canal. Here, on the platform, they are skinned, and, for purposes of convenience in packing into the skinning chambèr, they are more or less divided up. The portions of several animals (up to 12 or 15) are then placed in a central compartment of a huge iron cylindrical vessel. The vessel is tightly closed down and steam under great pressure (60 lbs) is forced in. The action of the steam melts and dissolves up the flesh and breaks up the bones; and after about four hours this steam is cut off from the interior and fresh steam is forced only into the outer jacket with which the cylinder is provided. The heat from this second supply gradually dries up the mass of moist material in the central chamber and when sufficiently desiceated the resulting powder forms an artificial manure. “During the first stage the fatty and gelatinous portions of the carcass are melted and disolved and the resulting mixed fluid is conducted to a resort where they are subsequently separated-the fatty material after purification being employed for several purposes and the gelatinous and gluey fluid being also rendered capable of use.' This report should be carefully read and read between the times, The fatty matter, thus obtained from the dead animals of Calocetta-the impure fat-says the Health Officer is employed for several purposes. And pne of the purposes is the adulteration of Ghee. Thus the Ghee that we ANATHBANDHU. Wolume I. Hindus and Mehomedans use in our household is adulterated not only with foreign matter but with fatty matter got from the carcasses. Every horse, every cow, every pig, every dog that dies in Calcutta contributes its quota of fat which is mixed with the ghee we consume. It has been an open secret that the fat obtained from sers petits is also freely mixed with ghee. It is a matter of great surprise that the provision of the law does not preclude the possibility of unscrupulous traders palming off as ghee a mixture which contains only a small percentage of the real article. The Calcutta Corporation has-from time to time-prosecuted some ghee merchants and they have been found guilty. But they evade the law by putting on a board in some obscure corner of their shop that they sell not the pure article but “mixed ghee' that does not signify much to the average purchaser who pays for a poison which undermines his health and far from satisfies his religious scruples. In Great Britain law after law have been enacted to prevent adultération of foodstuff. And the dealer who adulterates his butter with margarine is compelled to sell his butter not as butter, but as a mergarine. We can follow suit and here in India uascrupulous dealers should be compelled to sell their adulterated articles as the article used for purposes of adulteration. In the markets pure and unadulterated food has become actually scarce and often it is difficult, if not impossible, to get the geunine article This is a deplorable state of affairs which cries aloud for drastic remedies. The people and the Government should act together in the matter. The Government can legislate; but without the co-operation of the people no legislation can be successful. And, what is more, in this matter the people-both Hindus and Mahomemdans-should revive the old system of social penalty. Thus and thus alone can we hope to succeed in the matter. . Hemendra Prasad Ghose.