SCIENCE. 



281 



SCIENCE : 



A Weekly Recordof Scientific 

 Progress. 



JOHN MICHELS, Editor. 



Published at 



TRIBUNE BUILDING, NEW YORK. 



P. O. BOX 3838. 



SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 1881. 



At the last meeting of the " American Cheinical 

 Society" Professor A. R. Leeds called attention to the 

 reported adulteration of certain articles of food, and 

 made special reference to the adulteration of sugar and 

 syrups, with glucose. 



The result of Dr. Leeds' examination of sugar 

 shows, that it was of excellent quality and almost free 

 from any adulteration, and that he was enabled, alter 

 investigations, to " contradict with equal decisiveness, 

 the notion that table syrups are largely, almost uni- 

 versally, adulterated with glucose syrups." 



As Dr. Leeds stated that one of the objects of his 

 paper was to correct, what he calls, sensational reports 

 of adulteration, and to place on record his own scien- 

 tific work as evidence that adulterations to a large ex- 

 tent do not exist, it may be prudent to test the integ- 

 rity of his work, by comparing it with results achieved 

 by another ( chemist, having a high reputation as an 

 analyst, who appears to have made investigations cov- 

 ering the same ground, as that instituted by Professor 

 Leeds. We allude to Professor Harvey W. Wiley, 

 whose paper on " Glucose and grape-sugar " appears 

 at an opportune moment. According to Professor 

 Wiley, the manufacture of glucose is conducted on a 

 scale which will result in eleven million bushels of 

 corn being used for that purpose during the present 

 year, and as a bushel of corn will produce about 30 

 pounds of glucose, it would appear that over three 

 hundred million pounds of glucose will be placed 

 on the market during the year 1881, with every indi- 

 cation that the quantity will be doubled in 1882. 



What becomes of all this glucose ? Professor Wiley 

 states that some of it is used for brewing beer, taking 

 the place of malt ; it is also given as a food for bees ; 

 " all soft candies, waxes and taffies, and a large pro- 

 portion of stick-candies and caramels are made of 

 glucose"; but "a very large proportion of all 



THE GLUCOSE MADE IS USED FOR THE MANUFACTURE 



of table syrups." * * * " When these syrups 

 are sent into the shops, they are sold to consumers 

 under such altisonant names as Maple Drip, Bon Ton, 

 Upper Ten, Magnolia, Extra Choice, Golden Drip, 

 White Loaf Drip," etc., etc. * * * "Dealers tell 

 me that these syrups, by their cheapness and excel- 

 lence, have driven all others out of the market. So 

 much is this the case that it is no longer proper to call 

 glucose the ' coming syrup.' It is the syrup which has 

 already come." 



"Grape sugar is used chiefly for the adulteration of 

 other sugars. When it is reduced to fine powder ; it 

 can be mixed with cane sugar in any proportion, with- 

 out altering its appearance. Since the grape-sugar 

 costs less than half the price of cane sugar, this adul- 

 teration proves immensely profitable." 



We do not propose to decide upon the issue thus 

 raised by Professors Leeds and Wiley, but as both 

 admit to have spoken after a full investigation, it is 

 difficult to discover how results so different were arrived 

 at. We believe that Professor Leeds reported cor- 

 rectly on the samples as he found them, but if Profes- 

 sor Wiley is correct, the former must have been very 

 fortunate, or, perhaps, unfortunate, in the selection of 

 his samples. 



We are in receipt of a communication, stating that 

 glucose sugar has now an immense sale, and that in the 

 West, nine-tenths of the syrups on the market have but 

 5 to 15 per cent, of cane sugar. 



Possibly in first-class stores in New York City, the 

 sugars and syrups offered for sale are genuine, but it 

 appears folly to shut our eyes to the immense use of 

 glucose and grape-sugar for mixing purposes. 



If Professor Leeds wishes his future communications 

 on adulteration to be read with " vivid interest," or his 

 reports to reach what he terms, " a commanding posi- 

 tion in the literature of adulterations," he will offer some 

 evidence that Professor Wiley is in error, while a 

 few facts, showing the destination of the 500 tons of glu- 

 cose and grape-sugar manufactured every day, will 

 be timely and welcome. 



We find that the first cost of glucose and grape- 

 sugar is about one cent a pound, and that it is sold 

 direct for three to four cents a pound. The manufac- 

 ture therefore of glucose is a profitable industry, and 

 one likely to be conducted with spirit and enterprise. 



Is glucose wholesome ? It may be early to answer 

 this question, as some physicians are opposed to its 

 use, but, as an article of food, it is now generally ac- 

 knowledged to be a wholesome product, and if care- 

 fully and properly made, free from any deleterious 

 substances. We therefore fail to find any reason why 

 this thriving industry should not be conducted openly, 

 and the product sold on its merits, thus escaping the 

 odium which is cast on all counterfeit substances. 



