SUGAR, MOLASSES, CONFECTIONS, AND HONEY. 681 



origin. The presumption in favor of the New Orleans sugars is that 

 they are all made from cane. On the other hand, it is known that 

 large quantities of raw beet sugar are imported into New York and the 

 greatly increased percentage of ash in the New York samples possibly 

 indicates the use of considerable quantities of raw beet sugar by the 

 refineries supplying the New York and Brooklyn markets. 



THE SAMPLES OF SUGAR EXAMINED AT THE LABORATORY OF THE 



DEPARTMENT. 



These samples were purchased in Washington and Baltimore. Nuin- 



srs 8559 to 8602, inclusive, were purchased in Washington ; numbers 

 8620 to 8644, inclusive, were purchased in Baltimore. 



An attempt was made not only to get fair samples of the low-grade 

 sugars, but also a considerable number of high-grade sugars. It is in- 

 teresting to note that a number of these sugars polarized 100 or 

 slightly over. In every case, these high polarizing sugars had the 

 peculiar odor characteristic of beet sugar. A possible explanation of 

 this high polarization is found in the supposition that they may have 

 contained traces of raflmose. 



The low-grade sugars represented all the various kinds of such 

 sugars which the market would afford. Considerable time and effort 

 were spent in getting absolutely fair market samples both from Wash- 

 ington and Baltimore. 



In the table of analyses are given, in addition to the ordinary data, 

 the percentages of sugar contained in each sample when calculated 

 after inversion by the factor 144. Apparently the factor 144 gave more 

 accurate results than the factor 142.6, the results of which tend to be, 

 as would be expected, too high. 



From a general review of the analyses of sugar purchased in all 

 parts of the country we may safely assume that the adulteration of 

 sugar with sand or terra alba which is said to exist in other countries 

 is not practiced to any appreciable extent in this. The addition of 

 other sugars than cane sugar to the sugars of commerce is also ex- 

 tremely doubtful. The only things which could be construed as an 

 adulteration is in making sugars almost white but with soft grain cap- 

 able of absorbing a considerable quantity of molasses and retaining 

 it and the use of excessive quantities of ultramarine. The soft sugars 

 mentioned form a considerable quantity of the low-grade sugars of 

 commerce. From the calculations made, in one or two instances, it 

 is seen that the purchaser scarcely gets as much saccharine matter in 

 buying these low-grado sugars at a low price as he does in buying high- 

 grade sugars at a slightly higher price. The difference, however, is so 

 slight as to be unimportant. The trade in low-grade sugars, therefore, 

 can not be considered fraudulent, as the purchaser is fully aware at the 

 time of buying that he is getting an inferior quality of sugar for which 

 he is paying a lower price. So long as the price of sugar continues at 

 its present low figure, it may be said that the danger of adulteration is 



