Wooden nutmegs are supposed to be an Auierican specialitc, but from what L read in an English paper they evidently don't know everything about nutmegs down in " Judee " —I mean in Connecticut, the traditional home of tho wooden ham and the "faked" nutmeg. No, sir, even the much despised Britisher can give the Yanks points at times, although it be in the very questionable field of adulteration. It appears there is a peculiar " nutmeg in dustryi" in London which is of very long standing, and which is carried on to a much larger extent than most people are aware of. A special commissioner, sent out by an English paper, the British Weekly, discovered the industry in question in the courso of his travels round the metropolis, in which he had en gaged for the purpose of inspect ing what might be called the minor industries of the '* City of the Big Smoke."

This enterprising gentleman came across quite a colony of women in the Hackney district, who are employed in the very odd occupation of " mending nutmegs." These women, so the story goes, " fetch the worm eaten fruit from the spice factories and warehouses, and patch them up with nut meg dust." The dust is made by grinding a nutmeg to powder and then mixing the powder with glue and gum. With this powder are filled up the holes in the bad nutmegs, which are then returned to the factories for sale by the employers, who pay for the labour of mending the starva tion rate of twopence a gross. A pleasant thought, truly, this of nutmeg " mend ing" being carried on in some filthy slum, with germs of all sorts of horrors lurking in the dust and dirt of the surroundings. At twopence a gross too, the " mender" cannot well be expected to be very cau tious as to what are the exact ingredients of the " dust " which goes into the holes. Faugh, what strange things are used as food nowadays, and how little do we know what we eat and whence it comes. A mem. for the housewife —inspect your nut megs, and look carefully for the dust-filled holes before grating.
