THE A N A L Y S T . T E E ADULTERATION OF PEAS. ON another page me reprint from The Times a report of a case in which an importer of foreign provisions was summoned before Mr. Knox, on a charge of selling preserved peas which were adulterated with copper, and consequently injurhus to health. The case presents several unique features which render it desirable that we should draw attention to it, and in doing so we must point out that we have no special report of our own, but rely upon that published in The Times.We note first that the defendant was charged with selling peas which were so adulterated as t o be consequently injurious t o health. This seems t o us t o have been aa absolutely unnecessary and even unwise step to have taken under the circumstances. The mere fact of the adulteration is sufficient for the summons i n a case of this kind, and evidence that the adulteration is injurious to health can be git-en at the hearing, the addition of the last clause to the summons can only have the effect of increasing the penalty, which it is in the power of the magistrate to inflict, and generally introduces some technical difficulty.The next point which claims our attention is the fact that a medical man, a Fellow of the Royal Society, should have appeared for the defence, and endeavoured to convince the magistrate that the adulteration of peas and preserved fruits with copper was not injurious t o health.His argument appears t o be based upon such a fallacy that it seems strange it should be listened to even for a moment.It is perfectly true that copper is found in minute traces in the human body, and Dr. Pavy thought fit to base upon this fact, an argument that copper might be legitimately used in the preparation of peas for human food. It appears to us that it would be equally rational to argue that because the human body contains serenty per cent. of water it is therefore legitimate for a milkman to add seventy per cent.of water to the milk which he vends for sale, or tbat because the human body contains minute traces of alumina it would be perfectly legitimate and justifiable for the baker to add alum to the loaf with which he supplies us. The special pleading of Dr. Pavy, and the clever Counsel by whom he was put forward had however its desired effect, the magistrate was so puzzled by what he called the wiciely different opinions of medical men, and was so greatly imprcssed with the importance of the case to the ‘( trade,” which he said would be I ( seriously affected,” that he adjourned his decision, in order that he might fully consider the evidence, and expressed a hope that one result of the adjournment would be t o induce qualified persons to discuss the question in medical circles and give him the benefit of their deliberations.We have carefully considered the question, and we have no hesitation whatever in giving Mr. Knox the benefit of our deliberations, by saying unhesitatingly that the smallest admixture of copper when contained in any preserved article of food, ought to be viewed as an adulteration. I t is well known that the copper is added solely for the purpose of improving the colour of the preserved vegetables, and so giving a fictitious value to an otherwise inferior article.