418 EECORD OF SCIENCE FOR 1886. 



abetic persons may enjoy food which has hitherto not been admissible 

 in their case. Saccharine does not belong to the class of carbohydrates, 

 and does not possess nutritious properties. The use of saccharine will 

 therefore, as indicated by its properties, be not merely as a probable 

 substitute for sugar, but it may even be applied to medicinal i)urpose 

 where sugar is not ])ermissib]e. The inventor was fully aware that iu 

 order to supply a perfect substitute for cane or beet-root sugar, ssoine- 

 thing else, viz, a similar substance, was needed for confectionery and 

 similar purposes, besides sweetening properties, and he has also ci- 

 deavored to solve this problem. Dr. Fahlberg combines glucose with 

 starch sugar, a substance very similar to cane or beet root sugar, but 

 inferior to these in sweetening properties, with saccharine, and thus 

 obtains a compound which he calls ''dextro-saccharine," which, as far 

 as the taste is concerned, is scarcely distinguishable from the best sugar. 

 The quantity of saccharine used is in the i)roportion of one i>art to lioui 

 1,000 to 2,000 parts of glucose. Now, since the price of saccharine is at 

 present al30ut 50s a pound, we shall find that even at this price such a 

 mixture would be very considerably cheaj)er than real sugar, but we 

 must bear in mind the fact that there is great likelihood of the process 

 of manufacture of saccharine being considerably cheapened. 



It will then be evident not only that saccharine is a most interesting 

 comi)Ound, but that it may also be destined to beccme an article of i)ri- 

 mary commercial importance. The future must decide as to the rev- 

 olutions it may bring about in the coal-tar industry, in the cultivation 

 of the soil now devoted to growing canes or beets, and in the sugar in- 

 dustry generally and other industries connected with it; but as great 

 and important commercial interests are in question, it is highly advisa- 

 ble to look well into this matter, and not allow our foreign com])etitois 

 in this and other markets to secure for themselves exclusively the ben- 

 efit which this discoveiy may confer. There are in commerce small balls 

 made from starch, to which has been added .05 per cent, of saccharine, 

 of which one is sufficient to impart a very sweet taste, very similar to 

 that of the best sugar, to a large cup of black coffee. 



Investigations on the Sulphinides, by Dr. Ira Remsen. — The benzoic 

 sulphinide described iu the preceding note has been further studied by 

 the author. By the substitution of the ethoxyl group lor hydrogen 

 l)araethoxybenzoic sulphinide was obtained, crystallizing iu fine white 

 needles, melting at 257° to 258'°. This derivative has not the sweet 

 taste characteristic of the benzoic sulphinide. Another derivative, para- 

 brombenzoic sulphinide, crystallizing in long needles and subliming in 

 feathery tlakes at about 200°, has a remarkable taste. When first placetl 

 upon the tongue its taste is extremely sweet, fully as much so as that 

 of benzoic sulphinide, a single small crystal being able to sweeten half 

 a liter of water. After the sweet taste has passed an equally bitter taste 

 takes its place, reminding one in its extreme bitterness of strychnine. 

 This peculiarity can not be due to the presence of two substances of 

 different degrees of solubility, since the purest specimens have this 

 property. (Am. Chem. -J., viii, 223.) 



Faranitrohenzoic Sulphinide^ etc., by W. A. Noyes. — This body crys- 

 tallizes in small leaflets and in fine needles, fusing at 209°. It is diffi- 



