148 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



May 11, 



THOMAS C. NEWMAN. 



Editor and Pbopriktor. 



CHICAGO, ILL., MAY 11, 1881. 



Food Adulterations from a Hygienic 

 Standpoint. 



In March last, Dr. W. S. Haines, pro- 

 fessor of chemistry in Rush Medical 

 College, startled the scientific portion 

 of community with an elaborate lecture 

 eulogizing the virtues of glucose, and 

 indirectly defending its universal man- 

 ufacture and sale as an adulterant. Of 

 course, he scientifically dresses up the 

 stereotyped and popular arguments that 

 grape sugar, as found in the grapes, and 

 glucose made from corn with sulphuric 

 acid, are substantially one and the same, 

 and similar to that made from potatoes 

 and bread in the laboratory of the hu- 

 man stomach. He might have added, 

 also, that chemically speaking, the same 

 product could be realized from a great 

 majority of the garbage to be found in 

 the gutters of our popular cities, but 

 for fear of adding to the prejudice al- 

 ready existing, we suppose, he kindly 

 omitted giving this information. Evi- 

 dently, the following extract explains 

 the reason for the waste of his valuable 

 time— first, to remove the prejudice 

 from the public mind regarding the use 

 of glucose ; second, to beguile the farm- 

 ing community from their opposition to 

 swindling; 



I beiieve it is no exaggeration to say, 

 at the present moment, at least two- 

 thirds of the reading public look upon 

 glucose as a dangerous substance, pos- 

 sessed of highly deleterious or even poi- 

 sonous properties, and I question 

 whether 1 housewife in 20 could be 

 found who would accept a pound of this 

 sugar as a present, if she were obliged 

 to promise to use it in the household 

 cooking. A recent letter in one of the 

 daily papers expresses, I believe, the 

 average public ignorance in regard to 

 glucose, when it says : " The persons 

 who have been made sick, and are in- 

 jured for life by its use, are already a 



mighty host No wise man wants 



glucose for food." Another equally 



misinformed writer says.- " Grape 



sugar is not only injurious to health ac- 

 cording to chemists, but it is a plain 

 and palpable fraud, because it is not 

 sweet — It is of no possible use except 

 for adulteration.'' 



If, as I have said before, this mistake 

 was like most of the other popular falla- 

 cies, a harmless error, we might afford 

 to let it travel, confident that it would 

 do no serious harm. But since it threat- 

 ens to affect a branch of industry which 

 promises, if it be encouraged, to re- 

 dound to the advantage of every man 

 who owns a farm or who plants an acre 

 of corn, I believe it is nigh time to 

 discuss the subject, and remove the pre- 

 judices against this truly valuable pro- 

 duct of chemical skill. 



The following paragraph contains the 

 gist of his lecture as to the method of 

 manufacture : 



By mechanical and chemical means 

 the starch is first extracted from the 

 corn and then is boiled with very dilute 

 sulphuric acid, when it rapidly passes 

 into solution and becomes changed into 

 sugar. The chemical action that takes 

 place during this transformation is 

 highly interesting. Both starch and 

 glucose consist of exactly the same ele- 

 ments, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, 

 united, however, in slightly different 

 proportions — the sugar containing just 

 enough more of the oxygen and hydro- 

 gen to equal the quantify of these ele- 

 ments present in a molecule of water. 



So improbable and highly discolored 

 was the whole lecture, that many of the 

 better informed and more thoughtful of 

 the readers of our morning papers were 

 not slow to believe the Doctor had other 

 than scientific motives for giving utter- 

 ance to such a lecture, and he found it 

 necessary in a supplemented letter to 

 disclaim any selfish purpose in prepar- 

 ing it. 



A few days after the lecture above 

 referred to, an Iowa farmer sent to one 

 of the daily papers a can of glucose 

 syrup purchased in Davenport, and 

 stated " he and his family had been u> 

 ing the syrup for some time just as they 

 had the ordinary cane syrups,'and liked 

 it exceedingly ; but, after steady use of 

 it for some time, he discovered that the 

 digestion of every member of the fam- 

 ily was ruined, and that something or 

 other, presumably the glucose, because 

 that was comparatively a new article of 

 diet with them, had seriously disagreed 

 with their stomachs." Dr. T. D. Wil- 

 liams, quite eminent as an analytical 

 chemist, after careful examination, 

 made the following report and explana- 

 tion, to which we give considerable 

 space : 



I find the contents of the can to be a 

 solution of starch sugar (grape sugar), 

 and not uncrystallizable starch sugar 

 (glucose) or starch syrup, as alleged. 



The reaction is acid. The specific 

 gravity is 1,343, indicating the presence 

 of 75.5 per cent, of starch sugar. 



The substance is unusually sweet ; a 

 fact showing that the saccharine prop- 

 erties have not been destroyed either by 

 heat or by the undue presence of lime 

 (combined with heat), which fact is cor- 

 roborated by the presence also of free 

 sulphuric acid. I also find traces of 

 sulphate of iron (copperas). 



The microscope reveals innumerable 

 delicate crystalline tufts, and larger 

 warty bodies of starch sugar, thus in a 

 manner authenticating the chemical 

 examination made. It also shows the 

 presence of sulphate of lime and a vast 

 quantity of vegetable tissue (cellulose). 



I believe in calling a thing by its 

 proper name. Artificially, no such sub- 

 stances as grape sugar and glucose were 

 ever made. Now, while this may ap- 

 pear to you to be an ultra expression, I 

 am willing to be convinced of my mis- 

 take, if I am, indeed, making one, for, 

 as a matter of fact, the terms grape 

 sugar and glucose in their original sense 

 refer to the natural products alone, and 

 not to any artificial ones. Dalton very 

 properly says : " The cane and grape 

 sugars are held in solution in the juice 

 of the plants from which they derive 

 their names." Again, Dunghson de- 

 fines glucose as being a variety of sugar 

 (uncrystallizable) that occurs naturally 

 in many vegetable juices and in honey. 



Indeed,these terms were subsequently 

 given to the artificial products, and, 

 in my opinion, erroneously so, because 

 of their saccharine properties and their 

 chemical combinations, which, in both 

 instances, are insomeric with the natu- 

 ral product. I say the names are erro- 

 neously given ; first, because they are 

 not natural products ; and, second, not 

 being those produced by nature, man 

 has no right to presume upon their pos- 

 sible physiological effect. Assuming 

 that such effect is the same, a thing re- 

 cently done, because of an alleged fam- 

 ily patronymic. 



Dr. Williams said he believed that the 

 frequent reiteration of the statement 

 that the natural product is wholesome, 

 a truth made use of conjointly with the 

 word glucose, for the purpose of extend- 

 ing the sales of the artificial product. 

 The misrepresentation so constantly 

 persisted in is a question of fact, as is 

 also its avowed purpose. The glucose 

 manufacturers and their devotees, in 

 some few instances ignorantly, but of- 

 tener intelligently, are engaged in mis- 

 representing the facts, as above stated, 

 and this, too, with but one object in 

 view — namely : that they may uninter- 

 ruptedly perpetrate fraud. I want you 

 to understand that these men are not so 



greatly interested in the public health, 

 notwithstanding their clamor, as they 

 are in the money in the public pockets. 

 In other words, that I believe their per- 

 sonal proclivities tend more directly 

 towards mercenery motives than they 

 do towards sanitary benefits. 



It is unnecessary to assure the intelli- 

 gent reader, that Prof. Williams' opin- 

 ions regarding glucose are in accord 

 with those of the most celebrated chem- 

 ists of Europe and America, and that 

 it is anomalous to find a scientist of any 

 respectability who agrees with Prof. 

 Haines. 



Bee-keepers are thoroughly disgusted 

 with the villainous stuff, and the follow- 

 ing will find a ready echo in every honest 

 heart : " I have never used an ounce of 

 glucose, and would quit the business if 

 I had to use it. I have instructed my 

 merchant to give away my honey if any 

 trace of glucose can be found in it." 



The following communication bearing 

 upon the use of glucose in the apiary, 

 will be read with interest by the thou- 

 sands of admirers of its writer. The 

 earnest language employed by the Rev. 

 L. L. Langstroth, its autor, and his 

 forcible manner of presenting facts, 

 cannot fail to carry conviction that the 

 matter has received the fullest consid- 

 eration : 



Much has been written in favor of and 

 against the value of grape sugar as a 

 winter bee feed. Some years ago, while 

 not denying that it might be safely 

 used in winter, permitting cleansing 

 flights, I expressed the opinion that it 

 might prove very injurious when the 

 bees were confined for a long time to 

 the hive. I could then speak only theo- 

 retically, now I can give the most de- 

 cided testimony against it from actual 

 observation of its fatal results, in an 

 apiary only a few rods from my house. 

 Mr. David McCord prepared 65 colonies 

 for wintering in the open air. Being 

 both painstaking and skillful, he had 

 never before in wintering lost a single 

 colony. Thirty-six of .these colonies 

 were fed in the fall upon a syrup made 

 of % coffee A sugar and 2 <j grape sugar; 

 the others had no grape sugar. Every 

 colony but one which had grape sugar 

 died of dysentery. Two of the others 

 starved, wnile the rest came through in 

 better than average condition. His 

 brother, living close to him, wintered 

 23 colonies in the open air ; one starved 

 and the average strength of the others 

 was unusually good. He used no grape 

 sugar in any form. They died with 

 dysentery, between combs well supplied 

 with the "mixture above referred to. 



Early in April, even after they had 

 several cleansing flights, the'only one of 

 the colonies fed on grape sugar that 

 had survived, was found to be suffering 

 so badly from dysentery that not a bee 

 could fly. An empty hive was warmed 

 by laying it upside down upon a stove ; 

 some combs of good honey were also 

 warmed and the bees brushed into the 

 hive from their filthy combs and car- 

 ried into a warm room. Those which 

 could not crawl upon the combs were 

 given a warm bath, and when dried, re- 

 turned to the others. Although quite 

 weak in numbers they are now in good 

 heart. One night more on their grape 

 sugar combs would probably have killed 

 them. 



This experiment of Mr. McCord's 

 lias suggested to me the idea that when 

 bees are suffering from dysentery and 

 no flight can be given them, or they are 

 too weak to fly, a warm bath, even car- 

 ried so far as to make them insensible, 

 might so relieve them, both externally 

 and internally, as to restore them to 

 health. They can easily be warmed 

 and dried by confining them to a seive. 

 The fearful loss sustained by so many of 

 our best bee-keepers, both in special 

 winter depositories and in the open air, 

 seem to give renewed emphasis to the 

 importance of providing some feasible 

 way by which the bees can be given a 

 purifying flight, without any reference 

 to the external temperature. 



If 1 lb. of honey or cane sugar lias 

 over twice the sweetening power of a 



lb. of grape sugar, it is self-evident 

 that to sustain life bees must consume- 

 a much larger quantity of the latter 

 than of the former, and that there must 

 be a much greater amount of waste 

 (feces! trom the grape sugar. Is it not,, 

 therefore, a demonstrable certaintjr 

 that there is much risk run in using it 

 for winter supplies, where the cold may 

 for 4 or 5 months confine bees to their 

 hives ? 



In what I have thus far said, I do not 

 assume that grape sugar cannot be man- 

 ufactured as pure as that found in the 

 raisin. Mr. Frank R. Cheshire, who is 

 high authority, says, in the London 

 Journal of Horticulture, April 14, 1881,. 

 page 300, that "glucose can be made 

 from old rags, old paper (second-hand' 

 pawn tickets having sometimes been 

 employed thus), and indeed any form of 

 cellulose or starch, Indian corn in 

 America usually being the source, and 

 by the action of sulphuric acid can be 

 converted into a sugar that no chemis- 

 try, no palate can distinguish from that 

 taken from the most dainty bunch of 

 grapes — It is equal to grape sugar, 

 whatever its origin, and as an article of 

 diet it has its value ; but all this still 

 leaves its use as an adulterant most dis- 

 graceful, and all should join hands in 

 fearlessly doing our level best to get the 

 right ticket put upon any man (and 

 his wares) who descends to a practice 

 which, if it does not lower him, wrongs 

 all those who are striving to do hon- 

 estly. Glucose, although chemically 

 like a portion of honey, is altogether 

 wanting in that which makes honey 

 what it is. Its aroma, the delicate dis- 

 tillment from a thousand flowers inim- 

 itable and incommunicable alike, is not 

 there, and he who gives the one for the 

 other is as truly criminal as he who- 

 tenders knowingly a base com." 



Mr. A. I. Root, in Gleanings tot April, 

 page 203, says : " The American Grape 

 Sugar Co., of Buffalo, N. Y., have at 

 length produced a sugar entirely free 

 from the slight bitter taste which has 

 heretofore characterized even the best 

 refined grape sugars. It is a pure pro- 

 duct of Indian corn, and is as pure and 

 simple a sweet as the best grades of 

 maple sugar." 



Now, the expert chemist may per- 

 haps make a perfectly pure article of 

 grape sugar, but this is a very different 

 thing from his being able to manufac- 

 ture the same on a large scale, and for 

 commercial purposes, so that it can be- 

 profitably sold for its real sweetning 

 value. Our friend. Root, in his honest 

 enthusiasm, says: "Just tasle of it 

 yourself (the Buffalo article) if you are 

 incredulous. AVe will mail you a sam- 

 ple for 5 cents, which I think will settle 

 the discussion." We have tasted it, and 

 yet are not convinced. A very nice ar- 

 ticle it is as compared with that made a 

 few years ago, but, if our taste is not at 

 fault, the bitterness is not yet wholly 

 eliminated. We have tested it side by- 

 side with a pure article of maple sugar, 

 and we should never think of compar- 

 ing the delicate taste of the latter to- 

 the mockish taste of the former. We 

 are far from setting up our own taste as 

 an infallible criterion, and we therefore- 

 call upon Prof. Kedzie, or other analyt- 

 ical chemists, to take hold of the mat- 

 ter and give us the bottom facts, with- 

 out fear or favor. 



Suppose that their verdict is that the 

 Buffalo article is a perfectly pure grape 

 sugar — what then { Considering its 

 low sweetening power, at present prices 

 can there be any advantage in using it 

 as a bee-feed which will justify the risks 

 to which I have referred ? Are not 

 both grape sugar and glucose, at pres- 

 ent, used on so enormous a scale, almost 

 entirely for adulterating the commer- 

 cial sweets ? Is it not a fact sworn to 

 by one of the former proprietors of the 

 Buffalo Co., that on a capital of $400,- 

 000 they realized in one year a profit of 

 $1,000,000 ? Did not this profit come by 

 furnishing to unscrupulous men the fa- 

 cilities for adulterating the sweets in 

 common use by the people ? Tweed- 

 like, the reply to such questions may be 

 for a little longer, " what are you go- 

 ing to do about it ? "—but we hope only 

 for a little longer. 



What interest has one out of a thous- 

 and of our citizens in having the dollar 

 paid out for sweets go so largely to en- 

 rich the pockets of those who furnish 



