APICULTUKE. 337 



Whereas, The adulteration of honey, su^ar, syrup and all kinds 

 of sweets is largely practiced in the state of Minnesota; and 



Whereas, Such adulteration is injurious to the honest producer 

 and manufacturer, and hurtful and injurious to health, and dishon- 

 est and a fraud in practice. Xow, therefore, be it 



Resolved bj* this convention, that we are in favor of the passag-e 

 of string-ent laws to prevent such adulteration, and are heartily in 

 sympathy with those laws already upon our statute books making- 

 the adulteration of certain foods a crime. 



We, therefore, earnestlj" recommend that a committee of three be 

 appointed by this convention whose dutj' it shall be to appoint a 

 person in each countj' in this state to circulate or cause to be circu- 

 lated a petition asking the members of the legislature of 1895 to 

 pass laws making such adulturation a crime, and punishable by a 

 severe penalty; and making it the dutj- of the State Dairj" and Food 

 Commissioner to enforce such laws. We also invite all honest citi- 

 zens to join this association in its effort to stop and stamp out this 

 great evil. 



On motion of Mr. O. F. Brand the resolution was adopted. 



Dr. Prisselle: I am quite in sympathy with the general tone 

 of this paper. We heard adulteration objected to on the ground 

 that it is not safe to allow any one to adulterate food products, 

 but I think, also, there is another side to this question. Now, 

 we have heard it stated in this meeting that certain food pro- 

 ducts contained a certain amount of sulphuric acid, and a cer- 

 tain amount of iron, as though that was something dreadful, 

 but the real fact is that in the manufacture of glucose sugar, 

 the glucose is converted into sugar by the mixture of sulphuric 

 acid, which converts the starch into sugar. This glucose, as it 

 is called, is not properly purified from the excess of sulphuric 

 acid, that is, some of it is left in. Well, now, what is the effect 

 of sulphuric acid upon the system? The doctors give is as a 

 tonic. It is one of the best known tonics used in medicine, and 

 a small amount of it does not do any harm, but it is healthy; 

 and I think if some people would eat a little more sulphuric 

 acid they would find it beneficial. The same is true of lime. 

 Anybody who drinks hard water takes more into the system at 

 one time than is contained in a gallon of syrup. Everybody 

 knows that lime water makes a deposit on the inside of a tea- 

 kettle. And the lime does not do any harm. Xow, sulphate 

 of iron is another thing. Sulphate of iron is a xqvy powerful 

 drug, and I suppose it was the sulphate of iron which produced 

 the bad results mentioned here. I think we ought not to be too 

 furious in our condemnation, but we ought to look at a thing as 

 it really is, and to condemn the use of a little sulphuric acid 

 would be simply foolish, and I think we ought to go a little bit 

 slow. 



