and 2 cc for sugars. Dilution by adding cane sugar brings the precipitate 

 values down. The precipitates given by the pure samples were com- 

 monly white or very light gray in color, while the supernatant liquid, in 

 practically every case, was clear and colorless. Distinct dark colors 

 have often been observed when making tests on adulterated samples, 

 and these colors have been shown to be due to the presence of caramel. 

 Duplicate determinations on each sample should be made and the 

 mechanical conditions prescribed are to be very strictly followed. 



(2) ASH. 



(a) TOTAL ASH. 



The determination of ash is of especial value both as a means of 

 deciding upon the general character of a sample and in detecting adul- 

 teration. Unclarified samples are much less uniform in composition 

 than clarified samples, hence the percentages of ash among the former 

 will show wider variations than among the latter. The ash results 

 obtained on pure clarified maple sirups and sugars should vary within 

 narrow limits. The tabulated results obtained by the author 1 show a 

 variation among the pure sirups from 0.52 to 1.01 per cent, and among 

 the pure sugars from 0.65 to 1.30 per cent. An inspection of these 

 tables, however, shows that the variation among pure clarified samples 

 is not so great, that the proper range for sirups is from 0.52 to about 

 0.75 per cent, and for sugars from 0.65 to about 1 per cent. Percent- 

 ages of ash furnish, also, fairly definite values upon which to base 

 estimates of the extent of adulteration with cane sugar, and in making 

 such estimates, say in the case of sirups, it is very fair to assume 0.50 

 per cent as the minimum for ash. A safe estimate could be made in 

 the majority of cases, using 0.60 per cent as representing the ash of an 

 average pure maple syrup. 



The color of the ash of a maple sirup or sugar is an interesting prop- 

 erty. An almost constant indication is a more or less distinct green 

 color, the intensity of which varies partly with the degree of purity of 

 the sample. The characteristic green color is doubtless due to the 

 presence of manganates formed by the fusion of manganese with the 

 potash. The green mass dissolves in a small quantity of cold water to 

 a green solution. When this solution is either acidified, or warmed, or 

 even highly diluted with water, its color changes from green to pink, 

 owing to the conversion of manganate to permanganate. 



Weigh 10 grams of the sample in a flat-bottomed platinum dish, heat 

 carefully over an asbestos plate until near the point of charring, then 

 ash 'until nearly decarbonized, at faint redness in a muffle furnace. 

 Remove remaining particles of carbon by cooling, adding a few drops 



1 Ibid. 



