VOL. XIX. 



CHICAGO, ILL., JULY 11, 1883. 



No. 28. 



THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



Editor and Proprietor, 



Adulteration of Sweets by Glucose— 

 "They Make Money Out of it." 



The manufacturers of that vile 

 trash, glucose, are ever on the alert to 

 find new excuses for adulteration. 

 They now assert that pure honey when 

 analized is found to contain " 76 per 

 cent, of pure glucose," and then fool- 

 ishly advise the addition, perhaps, of 

 76 per cent, more of their impure trash 

 to it, so tliat some one dishonest 

 enough to take their advice, should 

 "make money out of it." 



Failing any longer to make it profit- 

 able for the " mixers, " in the large 

 cities, to continue their vile trade, 

 they now desire to enlist bee-keepers 

 to dishonestly feed it to the bees to 

 store it, so that it may be sold for 

 honey, and encourage them to do it, 

 because they can "make money out 

 of it." 



What do they care if it does poison 

 millions of bees while carrying and 

 depositing it in their combs V 



Why should they have any com- 

 punctions of conscience about its 

 effect upon millions of human beings, 

 wearing out their stomachs, entailing 

 disease and death, if thev can " make 

 money out of it ?" 



The one result, " making money 

 out of it," is the excuse as well as the 

 reward for dishonesty. 



The following communication from 

 the able pen of tlie Rev. L. L. Langs- 

 troth on this subject, will be read with 

 more than ordinary interest : 



My friend Mr. D. A. McCord wish- 

 ing to test the value of grape sugar, as 

 a bee-feed, wrote to a glucose manu- 



factory asking their prices. This reply 

 came : 



Feb. 21, 1883. 



Dear Sir :— Yours of the 13th to 

 hand. We will quote you glucose at 

 4J^ cts. per hundred lbs,— in 100 pound 

 kegs. You will find it tine food for 

 producing honey, as pure honey anal- 

 izes 76 per cent, pure glucose. 

 Yours Respectfully, 



The Grape Sugar Co. 



Mr. McCord wrote again, stating 

 that he wanted grape sugar for a 

 spring bee-feed, and not glucose, and 

 received the following : 



Feb. 26, 1883. 



Dear Sir :— Yours of the 24th re- 

 ceived, and shall have attention. We 

 think if you will try it, you will find 

 that you can produce lioney very fast, 

 and of fine quality. They feed it very 

 largely in California, and make money 

 out of it. Would like to hear from 

 you after you try it. 

 Yours Truly, 



The Grape Sugar Co. 



Following this letter came glucose 

 instead of the grape sugar ordered. 

 It was about as thick as good honey, 

 and almost as clear as water. As tlie 

 bees stuck fast to it and died, no use 

 was made of it as a bee-feed. Its 

 taste was sweetish and decidedly 

 bitter. No name was given in the 

 above letters but that of the Company, 

 called after the place where their 

 establishment is located. 



Prof. Marsh, of the Miami Univer- 

 sity Training School, furnishes the 

 following analysis of that glucose : 



Oxford, O., July 5, 1883. 

 Dear Sik :— I have tested the sam- 

 ple of glucose syrup which you handed 

 me for analysis, and find that it con- 

 tains large quantities of sulphuric acid 

 and sulphate of lime. The sample of 

 pure honey was found to have a 

 slightly acid reaction. 



Very Respectfully, 



B. F. Marsh. 

 L. L. Langstroth, Oxford, O. 



Lime and free sulphxiric acid ! no won- 

 der it has a bitterish taste. In order 

 " to see what would come of it," Mrs. 

 McCord used it in the making of some 

 gingerbread. The product was poor 

 stuff indeed— not having the ordinary 

 sweetness of corn bread. It puffed up 

 remarkably — a Ihnig easily accounted 

 for wiien the analysis showed how rich 

 the glucose was in sulphui'lc acid. 

 Syrups, etc., increased in volume by 

 glucose mixtures, are no more to be 



commended than this expanded gin- 

 gerbread. 



" Pure honey analizes 76 per cent, 

 pure glucose." One would think that 

 if honey was so largely glucose, it 

 would be scarcely necessary to add 

 more to it ! It has never yet been 

 made to appear that glucose as pure 

 as that contained in honey or fruits 

 can be cheaply produced. If the time 

 shall ever come when it can be, it 

 would still be a fraud to use what has 

 so low a sweetening power (only about 

 one-third that of cane sugar), for 

 adulterating molasses, maple syiup, 

 sugars, candies, etc. 



A friend of mine was told by the 

 captain of a boat on which lie was 

 travelling, that he carried many bar- 

 rels South to be used in adulterating 

 their sweets. 



Another friend informs me that he 

 saw 40 barrels of glucose at one rail- 

 road station, all of which was to be 

 used in adulterating maple syrup 1 



Mr. Chas. F. Muth, of Cincinnati, 

 O., perhaps the largest dealer in 

 boney in the West, and who has done 

 so much, both by precept and exam- 

 ple, to discourage the sale of adultera- 

 ted honey, has had glucose recom- 

 mended to him by laree dealers in it, 

 as a good thing to mix with boney, so 

 as to " make m<mey out of it." At 

 one time he said to me, that in his 

 opinion, most of the so-called maple 

 syrup in the Cincinnati market waa 

 largely glucosed. 



It is only within a short time that 

 any quotations of glucose or grape 

 sugar could be found in the grocei's 

 papers. Will any advocate for their 

 use, let the world know for what legi- 

 timate purposes the vast amounts 

 made of them are used ? Dare any 

 one connected with the making of 

 glucose, tell the public in plain words 

 exactly for what purposes they are 

 actually used V I fear not. 



Confident assertions are not wanting^ 

 to show that only a pure and harmless 

 article is made, and, you might 

 imagine, that its makers are deeply 

 grieved that this good creature of Goa 

 is ever used by bad men for shameful 

 adulterations. They would be ever so 

 glad to put a stop to said doings if 

 they could. Believe tliis, who can V 



I do not know that hitherto any 

 proof has been given to the public, 

 that some, at least, who manufacture 

 glucose and grape sugar, are acting 

 the part of tempters, and even going 

 so far as to suggest to those who wish 

 to purchase tliein for a legitimate ex- 

 periment, how money is to be made 



