760 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Nov. 29 1900 



A solution of pure honej- in water when boiled with an 

 alkaline solution of sulphate of copper deposits a precipitate 

 of red cuprous oxide. Neither by the addition of alcohol 

 nor of lead acetate, nor of barium chloride, should a solu- 

 tion of honey be rendered perceptibly turbid. Subjected to 

 fermentation by the addition of yeast, practically the whole 

 of the saccharine material should be decomposed and trans- 

 formed into alcohol and carbon dioxide. And lastly ex- 

 amined by the polariscope the polarized ray should turn to 

 the left. Some honeys, such as those produced from nectar 

 gathered from extra-floral nectaries, polarize to the right, 

 but if further subjected to dialysis for a certain length of 

 time, the ray turns from right to left back to zero. 



Cane-sugar syrup, altho it agrees in its chemical be- 

 havior with real honey, when treated with alcohol, lead 

 acetate or barium, not yielding any precipitates with them, 

 differs essentially from it inasmuch as it does not reduce an 

 alkaline solution of copper sulphate, consequently no de- 

 posit of red cuprous oxide takes place. A solution of cane- 

 sugar turns the polarized ray of light to the right. 



Cane-sugar which has been made into dextrose and 

 levulose by treatment with an acid, is chemically identical 

 with honey, and exhibits the same characters, but its origin 

 is betrayed by the traces of acid which always remain mixt 

 with it, and which cause precipitates with lead or barium 

 solutions. 



Starch or corn syrup, known commercially as glucose, 

 differs in almost every respect from honey. It throws down 

 abundant precipitates with lead and barium solutions, and 

 often with alcohol. It does not ferment completely, but 

 leaves about one-fifth of its weight as unfermentable 

 gummy residue, and, examined by the polariscope, it turns 

 the ray of light powerfully to the right. 



Glucose is prepared on a large scale from corn-starch. 

 The transformation is usually eft'ected bj' boiling with 

 dilute sulphuric acid. The excess of acid is removed by 

 treating the solutions with chalk and filtering. The filtered 

 solutions are evaporated to a syrupy consistency, and sent 

 into the market under the names of glucose, corn syrup ; or 

 to dryness, the solid product being known in commerce as 

 "grape-sugar." Much of the granulated sugar of com- 

 merce is adulterated with glucose. 



If in the treatment of starch with sulphuric acid the 

 transformation is not complete, and this is usually the 

 case, the product is a mixture of dextrose, maltose, and 

 dextrin. It is quite easy generally to recognize the acid 

 which has been used to convert starch into glucose. In the 

 laboratory it is quite possible to make pure glucose and re- 

 move every trace of acid, but commercially it is practically 

 impossible by subsequent precipitation of the product to 

 get rid of this acid, and as a consequence it appears in the 

 honey which is adulterated with it, and by adding to a clear 

 solution of honey containing such glucose a solution of 

 barium chloride, a white turbidity at once makes its appear- 

 ance varying in density with the quality of corn syrup pres- 

 ent and the state of its purity. 



The exact percentage of glucose added to honey can be 

 determined by the polariscope. I use a Soleil-Duboscq in- 

 strument with a tube 200 millimetres long, and Dr. Haenle's 

 formula, which is the following : 



^__(P+P)x3 



10 



for flower honey, x^percentage of adulteration, P=polari- 

 zation of honey that is being examined, p^normal polariza- 

 tion of pure honey. The normal polarization of honey be- 

 ing 30 degrees, it follows that if we find a honey that shows 

 say 44 degrees of polarization to the right, according to this 

 formula, we have 



(44+30)x3 _ 22.2 percent 

 10 



of corn syrup added. In this way it is quite easy to deter- 

 mine whether a sample is adulterated with glucose, and the 

 amount of the adulteration. 



Cellulose has chemically exactly the same composition 

 both qualitatively and quantitatively as starch, and, like it, 

 can be transformed into glucose by the action of sulphuric 

 acid. It will, therefore, be seen that substances containing 

 cellulose, such as old cotton and linen rags, paper or wood, 

 could be used for the preparation of dextrose or glucose, 

 did not the low price of starch render the employment of 

 cellulose for the preparation of this kind of sugar unprofit- 

 able. 



When bees have been fed with cane-sugar syrup, only 

 part of this is transformed into dextrose and levulose, so 



that it is easy to detect the presence of cane-sugar in the 

 way I have pointed out before, when this method of fraud 

 had been adopted. 



Chemistry has made enormous strides during recent 

 years, but so far only chemical compounds of comparative 

 simplicity have been the result, and not in any case has 

 any complex product, such as is used for man's food, been 

 obtained. The value of food substances, and above all 

 their price, generally stands in no relation to their compo- 

 sition. Composition, as ascertained by chemical analysis, 

 goes for very little ; quality, which is dependent upon cir- 

 cumstances beyond the present knowledge of the chemist, 

 goes for a great deal. For instance, a pound of tea has 

 chemically no more value than a pound of plum or willow 

 leaves, but who would pay the price for these that tea is 

 really worth ? Wine consists of dilute alcohol, slightly 

 acid, and more or less colored, but chemistry has failed to 

 produce from these ingredients anything resembling the 

 high-class wines which command such enormous prices. 

 Sawdust is chemically the same, both qualitatively and 

 quantitatively, as corn flour, but one would not care to have 

 the former substituted for the latter at the same price. We 

 would resent our butcher giving us leather instead of meat, 

 altho the composition of these is chemically almost identi- 

 cal. I might extend this comparison indefinitely, for it is 

 the same with almost every article of food or luxury. The 

 difference between good and bad tea, or wine, or meat, is so 

 small that the most careful analysis fails to detect it. The 

 value, therefore, is not a question of the composition of the 

 article, but is regulated by the presence or absence of 

 minute quantities of flavoring-matters about which we 

 know very little or nothing at all. 



We prize honey not because it consists, as the chemist 

 would say, of sugar and water, but because it possesses a 

 delicate aroma and flavor which is always absent from, and 

 can not by any known means at present be imparted to, 

 any artificially made syrup. Glucose, and even cane-sugar 

 that has been given to bees to store in the combs, are totally 

 devoid of the aroma of honey, so that when these are sub- 

 stituted for honey the fraud can be easily detected. 



The taste of the public has not yet been suSiciently 

 educated, and any syrup is eaten as honey provided it looks 

 transparent, and is contained in a neat jar and has a gaudy 

 label. When the taste is as well educated for honey as it is 

 for tea, meat or other articles of every-day consumption, 

 no one would venture to palm oft' artificial syrup for real 

 honey. 



It is difficult to decide whether the food-value of the 

 substitute is as good as that of the original article. Sugar 

 in any form produces the same proportion of heat. Oleo- 

 margarine, when burnt or digested, produces the same 

 amount of heat as butter. Yet butter holds its own against 

 its substitutes on account of its delicacy of flavor and more 

 ready digestibility. And we have reason for believing 

 that a similar difference exists between honey and glucose. 

 We know that bees refuse, as long as they are able, to feed 

 upon glucose, and when driven by starvation to take it 

 they soon die. The probable reason for its deleterious 

 effect is that levulose, one of the constituents of honey, is 

 absent, and that the glucose of commerce contains impuri- 

 ties. At any rate any chemist caring for his reputation 

 would pause before giving a definite opinion as to the rela- 

 tive food-values of the two products. 



Moreover, we know that dextrose is the sugar found in 

 the urine in cases of diabetes, often to the extent of 8 to 10 

 percent, and also that levulose isapurgative,which probably 

 counteracts any evil influence dextrose may have if taken 

 alone. Thus we have very good grounds for considering 

 glucose deleterious, while the combination of dextrose and 

 levulo.se in the form of honey as a healthy food. Experi- 

 ence has shown that honey can frequently be eaten by those 

 who can not take sugar. The reason is, that when cane- 

 sugar is taken, before it can be assimilated it has to be 

 transformed into the two sugars that compose honey. 

 Should the digestion be faulty, and the transformation not 

 be complete, some of the cane-sugar enters the circulation 

 and acts as a poison in the blood. Honey is already cane- 

 sugar perfectly transformed, and is therefore ready to be 

 assimilated without any previous digestion. For this rea- 

 son pure honey is to be recommended for children and per- 

 sons of weak digestion. 



I will not enter into the question of whether the sub- 

 stitutes for honey should be allowed to be sold. If they 

 a.Teper se, not considered harmful, they should at any rate, 

 in fairness to the purchaser, be labelled, and their consti- 

 tuents stated on the labels, so that the buyer may know ex- 

 actly what he is paying for, and I have no doubt that when 



