igosl Wheeler— Food Adulteration. 141 



monly the syrup is made by dissolving granulated sugar in 

 water colored and flavored with substances made in a factory 

 and, finally, in some cases, soap bark is added in order to pro- 

 duce a fine foam. The variety of drinks is very extensive, 

 one wholesale house alone offering an assortment of three- 

 hundred and thirty-three syrups. The artificial extracts made 

 to imitate strawberry, raspberry, and certain other fruit juices 

 are especially obnoxious and give rise to indigestion. Coal- 

 tar dyes are used for coloring purposes, especially for the 

 brilliantly colored drinks seen at State fairs and summer re- 

 sorts. In Minnesota recently it was discovered that an alleged 

 sweet-apple cider came "fresh from a cider-press" to which 

 the juice was delivered by an underground pipe. 



The most palatable and costly sugar is maple sugar. It is 

 an important product, about five million pounds annually com- 

 ing mostly from Vermont, New Hampshire and Ohio. The 

 great metropolis of the West is also noted for its prodution. 

 A small quantity of the pure article serves to produce large 

 amounts of "maple syrup." To such an extreme is this 

 carried that there is not left even a smell of the real maple. 

 Adultertion is extraordinarily extensive, and it has invaded the 

 maple woods. The reasons are succinctly stated by the Illin- 

 ois Food Commissioner as follows: "First — It is so easy any 

 one can do it. Second— It is profitable. Third — Adultera- 

 tion being common, the manufacturer is compelled to follow 

 suit in order to compete in price. Fifth — The production of 

 maple syrup is less than the demand. Sixth — The undoubted 

 demand for a syrup with a slight maple flavor at a less price 

 than the pure product commands. Seventh — The questiona- 

 ble fact that certain varieties of maple (Canada, North Minn- 

 esota)yield a syrup of stronger flavor than consumers demand." 

 The adulterants or substitutes for the maple sugar are cane 

 sugar, beet sugar, glucose, and dextrin. To produce the maple 

 flavor extracts of walnuts, butternuts, and corn-cobs are used. 

 A pure fruit jelly is made entirely from the fruit juice with, 

 the addition of cane sugar. The adulterants are numerous 



