37 



been devised by means of which in a simple and rapid way every 

 parkajjy of the finished sirup may be graded to a standard color. 

 The re is still a prejudice in the minds of many consumers in favor of 

 the liirl it -colored sirups. That this prejudice does not rest upon just 

 ^rounds is readily seen, since by the admixture of glucose, which is a 

 colorless substance, with the sirup a lighter-colored product is secured. 

 In addition to this, by the use of fumes of burning sulphur upon the 

 expressed juices, a much lighter-colored product is secured, but at the 

 expense of incorporating an objectionable substance, namely, sul- 

 phuric acid, in the finished product. Thus a very light-colored sirup 

 should awaken a suspicion of adulteration in the minds of the con- 

 sumer instead of being regarded as an index of superiority. It is 

 believed that the public taste could be easily educated in this regard 

 to prefer the normal-colored products to those that are bleached, 

 either chemically or by the addition of a colorless substance. The 

 pa la t ability of the unbleached finished product is without question 

 superior; and the desirability of extending its consumption so that it 

 may displace the mixed and adulterated articles should be apparent 

 to all. 



The agricultural industries of the Southern States, where sugar cane 

 ca-i be grown for the purpose mentioned, would be greatly benefited 

 by an expansion of the market for this product commensurate with its 

 palatability and nutritive properties. At the present time the mar- 

 ket value is dangerously near the actual cost of production. Thus 

 there is either no profit at all to the farmer and factory or else so 

 slight a profit as to restrict unduly the expansion of the industry. A 

 wider market would insure a reasonable increase of profits, and thus 

 stimulate the agricultural and manufacturing industry connected with 

 the production of table sirup from this source. 



The sirup made directly from the sugar cane must of necessity com- 

 mend itself to the consumer as preferable to molasses arising as a by- 

 product of sugar manufacture. In the production of sugar it is an 

 oeoiiomical necessity to make a white product, and this requires the 

 use of bleaching agents of some description. Among these sulphur is 

 perhaps the most common. Also in the washing of white sugar in the 

 centrifugal, solutions of salts of tin or of indigo are often employed to 

 X\\ '<> an additional luster to the sugar. This bleaching agent must 

 of necessity remain in the molasses, making it, to this extent, unsuit- 

 able for consumption. For these reasons it is evident that the pro- 

 duction of a table sirup directly from the original source should be 

 encouraged. 



The three principal sources of table sirup at the present time avail- 

 able are the maple tree, the sorghum plant, and the sugar cane. It 

 is true that some very good sirup has been made from the sugar beet, 



