208 EXPERIMENT STATION" RECORD. [Vol.41 



The adulteration of fresh, milk with " santen " and condensed milk, F. 

 Weehuizen {Medcd. Genecsk. Lab. Weltevredcn [Dutch East Indies], 3. Scr. A, 

 No. 1-2 {1918). pp. 161-163). — Attention is called to the sources of error in the 

 Seliwannolf resorcin reaction as applied to sucrose, namely, the decomposition 

 of oxymethylfurfurol when mixed with water and acids and of the aldohexoses 

 on boiling. It is stated that both errors may be avoided by the use of a solu- 

 tion of hydrochloric acid gas in absolute alcohol. This can be prepared con- 

 veniently by allowing strong hydi'ochloric acid to drop on strong sulphuric acid 

 and collecting the gas that is formed in absolute alcohol cooled on ice. The alco- 

 hol must be completely saturated and the reagent must not be kept for any 

 length of time. 



If to a mixture containing ketohexoses as such or in the form of disaccharids, 

 as cane sugar, 0.05 to 0.1 gm. of resorcin and a few cubic centimeters of the 

 alcoholized hydrochloric acid be added, a dark red color is produced rapidly at 

 ordinary temperatures, while if lactose only is present there is no color change. 

 In applying the test to milk suspected of being adulterated with condensed milk, 

 the following technique is employed : 



A mixture of 10 cc. of the milk and 30 cc. of absohite alcohol is shaken thor- 

 oughly and filtered. Ten cc. of the filtrate is evaporated nearly to dryness on 

 the water bath, and to the residue are added about 0.05 gm. of resorcin and 3 

 to 4 cc. of the alcoholized hydrochloric acid. If from 1 to 2 per cent of milk 

 sweetened with sucrose is present, the mixture is colored a light or dai"k cheri-j'- 

 red within three minutes. 



Adulteration with 10 per cent santen (the juice of coconut meat mixed with 

 water) can be detected in the same way by using 20 cc. instead of 10 cc. of the 

 filtrate. 



The loss of moisture from sugar samples under different methods of pres- 

 ervation, C. A.. Browne and G. H. Hakdin (Internat. Sugar Jour., 21 {1919), 

 2\'o. 246, pp. 274-277). — Various methods of preserving sugar samples were in- 

 vestigated by the New York Sugar Trade Laboi'atory. The best method, as re- 

 gards prevention of loss of moisture, was found to be to store the sample in 

 a wide mouth bottle provided with a ground glass stopper sealed with paraffin. 

 It is said that samples prepared in this way can be kept indefinitely without the 

 slightest loss in weight. Anotlier fairly good method makes use of a 6 oz. 

 glass bottle with a 1 in. opening closed with a deep cfirk and sealed by dipping 

 twice in paraffin. 



The color of sugar cane products and decolorization in factory practice, 

 F. W. Zekban and E. C. Fkp^eland {Louisiana Stas. Bui. 165 {1919), pp. 32, figs. 

 3). — The literature on decolorizing carbons for 1918 is reviewed, the nature 

 and relative importance of the well-known coloring matters occurring in sugar- 

 cane and formed during the manufacturing process are summarized, and a study 

 is reported of the color and of the iron and polyphenol content of sugarhouse 

 products as made by the usual method^ of clarification, and by the same 

 processes with the additional use of a decolorizing carbon. These sugarhouse 

 tests were conducted during the grinding season of 1918-19 on a larger scale 

 than those reported in Bulletin 161, previously noted (E. S. R., 39, p. 113). 



Five full runs were made and a small sixth run. In the first three the gen- 

 erally accepted sulfitation process for making white sugar in Louisiana was 

 adopted, carbon being used in one run and omitted in the other two. In the 

 fourth and fifth runs, the juice, after being .sulphured and limed back to neu- 

 trality, was acidified to decided litnuis acidity. Carbon was used in one run and 

 omitted in the otiier. The quantitative determination of coloring matters was 



