17477. Alleged Adulteration of oranges and tangerines.     IJ. S. v. Arthur M.
Prevatt (Prevatt & Co.). Tried to the conrt and a jnry. Verdict 
of not guilty.    (F. & D. No. 22587.    I. S. Nos. 14668-x, 21253-x.)
Examination of samples of the oranges and tangerines from the herein- 
described interstate shipments having shown that a portion of the fruit was 
deficient in juice, the Secretary of Agriculture reported the matter to the 
United States attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
On October 10, 1928, the said United States attorney filed in the District 
Court of the United States aforesaid an information against Arthur M. Prevatt, 
trading as Prevatt & Co., Seville, Fla., alleging shipment by said defendant 
in violation of the food and drugs act on or about February 14, 1928, from 
the State of Florida into the State of Georgia of a quantity of oranges, and 
on or about March 21, 1928, from the State of Florida into the State of 
Maryland of a quantity of tangerines, which said products were alleged to be 
adulterated.     The   articles   were    invoiced    as   oranges   and    tangerines, 
respectively.   The said tangerines were billed as cabbage.
It was alleged in the information that the articles were adulterated in ' 
that substances of decomposed and excessively dried oranges and tangerines 
had been substituted in part for edible fruit, which the articles purported to be; 
and in that orange juice or tangerine juice, as the case might be, valuable con- 
stituents of the articles, had been in part abstracted; and in that the articles 
consisted in part of decomposed vegetable substances.
On June 2, 1930, the defendant was arraigned and entered a plea of not 
guilty to the information. On June 18, 1930, the case came on for trial before 
the court and a jury. After the introduction of evidence and argument by 
counsel on behalf of the Government and the defendant, the case was sub- 
mitted to the jury, which returned a verdict of not guilty.
ARTHUR M. HYDE, Secretary of Agriculture.