34 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



The new domestic beet and cane sugars that will soon be coming into the market wilE 

 command a higher price than the present stocks. Exactly what the new price will be, or 

 when it will be made effective, has not yet been determined, however. E^ fet fp* 



To prevent extra profits by refiners' selling old stocks at the new price an effective device 

 has been evolved by the Food Administration. On a date to be announced later the Sugar 

 Equalization Board will purchase all sugars in the country at the old price and resell them to 

 the holders at the new price. This will prevent the two-price sugar situation that developed 

 last fall, and by establishing a uniform price throughout the United States, allowing for freight 

 differentials, will prevent hoarding of the old crop with a view to underselling refiners of the 

 new and higher costing crop. 



The increase is granted because the sugar shortage will bring increased refining costs per 

 unit and because of increased cost of labor, material and containers. 



In the above regard we quote one of the paragraphs in full: 



"The proposed change in price will become effective at 7 o'clock A. M., on a day to be 

 indicated later, and will apply to all sugars then held by refiners, beet or cane sugar producers 

 wherever located, and also to all shipments then in transit and undelivered by railroad or other 

 carriers to purchasers of sugar, excepting only that the proposed change in price will not apply 

 on any shipments or deliveries made before 7 A. M. on the date of its taking effect to the 

 United States Government or its Allies, or for export or overseas shipment." 



Jobbers, wholesalers and retailers will not be allowed to sell stocks at the advanced price, 

 but will only be entitled to the usual 35c.per 100 lbs. over cost on the part of wholesalers and 

 jobbers, and Ic. per lb. over cost on part of retailers. 



Meanwhile the quotations for refined remain unchanged on the basis of 7.50c. less 2% for 

 cash, with a somewhat moderate business doing under the certificate plan, which has worked 

 very satisfactorily in limiting the consumption of sugar in the United States. 

 ' New York, N. Y., August 29. 1918. 



SUBSTITUTES FOR SUGAR IN DRUGS 



The problem of shortage of sugar for pre- 

 scriptions and medicinal purposes in the 

 drug trade has already been dealt with in 

 England, where a war emergency formulary 

 has been published, containing formulas for 

 130 preparations in which sugar or glycerine 

 had been employed. This formulary has 

 been approved by the national health and 

 medical authorities and constitutes an 

 addendum to the British Pharmacopoeial 

 Code, the formulas thereby becoming legal 

 standards. 



Generally speaking, the principal sub- 

 stitutes for sugar adopted in these formulas 

 are (1) diluted glucose, containing 90 parts 

 of glucose and 10 parts of distilled water, and 

 (2) an artificial syrup known as syrupus facti- 

 tius and composed of: 



Tragacanth 0.7 



Chloroform 0.5 



Distilled water to 100.0 



No use has been made of saccharin. 



In this country it may not become necessary 

 to use substitutes to the same extent as in 

 England, but should the emergency arise, 

 pharmacists are prepared to make prompt ad- 



justments to meet it. Speaking of substitutes 

 for sugar. Prof. Wimmer of the New York 

 College of Pharmacy said recently that the 

 quantities of sugar used in compounding 

 medicine are so large that unrestricted use 

 might become a real factor in shortage. 



Substitution calls for detailed adaptation 

 of different ingredients to different purposes. 

 Saccharin at $40 a pound is as cheap a 

 sweetener as sugar, but its use should not be 

 permitted in any preparation which depends 

 for its employment entirely or in part upon 

 the presence of sugar, especially where used 

 as food. 



The use of glucose will lend consistency 

 and preserving quality to many galenicals in 

 which sugar has been used. Honey, manna, 

 and molasses are satisfactory' substitutes 

 in other compounds. Experiments with a 

 mixture of 75 per cent corn syrup and 25 per 

 cent water show that this mixture has a 

 viscosity practically the same as that of 

 official syrup. Corn syrup and glucose with 

 a small percentage of saccharin for sweetening 

 meets some purposes and the tendency 

 toward fermentation in such substitutes can 

 be overcome with a small percentage of 

 chloroform — Pharmaceutical Era. 



