84 BULLETIN OF THE BUSSEY INSTITUTION. 
substituted for rice, the essential process is identical in both 
cases. Whether there is any further treatment or refining of the 
product I am not informed. 
‘¢ We do not regard midzu-ame as food, in the same sense as 
we regard rice, fish or meat, but rather as a mere sweet. People 
eat it as they eat candy or cake, and it is thought to be an excel- 
lent means of stopping coughing. 
‘*Midzu-ame and the liquor called sake are not made in the 
same establishments. While the making of midzu-ame is a com- 
paratively small business, the brewing of sake is a great industry 
by itself that has been handed down from the legendary ages. 
It is interesting to note that sake and midzu-ame are both made 
from the same kind of rice (the glutinous variety). In sake-making 
‘‘koji” is used, the substance from which Dr. Takamine extracted 
the enzym known as taka-diastase. 
‘* The literal meaning of the words ‘ midzu-ame’ is water-ame. 
‘Ame’ is the name of a kind of candy —hard, sweet, white — 
made of midzu-ame; it is simply midzu-ame solidified. Water- 
ame or midzu-ame, therefore, is a name given in contrast to ame. 
In other words, midzu-ame is liquefied ame.” 
Thus far Mr. Takaki, who has also called our attention to the 
following statement taken from ‘** A descriptive catalogue of the 
agricultural products, exhibited in the World’s Columbian Exhibi- 
tion” : *— 
‘* The manufacture of ame in Japan dates as far back as one 
hundred years before the Christian era. In early times when 
sugar was not yet Known, ame was used for flavoring articles of 
food, and even at present it is sometimes used in place of sugar 
for cooking. Ame is made of malt and glutinous riee.” - ‘ 
When our sample of midzu-ame first came to hand, we deemed 
it remarkable that a syrup so concentrated should be almost 
wholly free from color, since it is to be presumed that it had not 
been worked in a vacuum pan. But, on reflection, if seems 
probable enough that an exceptionally pure wort might be con- 
centrated without injury even without the use of a vacuum pan, 
especially if it were faintly acid as it naturally would be from the 
presence of lactic acid, and we find evidence on record which 
* Agricultural Bureau, Department of Agriculture and Commerce. 
