Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1882-12-17
WHAT Is GLUc0SE2
The Purest and Most Harmless
Form OF Sugar.
The Conversion Of Starch-ho~ Glucose
Was Malignsd-Soms Of its
Merits Briefly Summed

When the Wheeling Grape Sugar and
Refining Company, on the "Glucese"
factory, as 1t Is better known, was first
started there was some little disappro-
baton expressed, most, if not all OF
which, arose from the belief that glu-
eose, or grape sugar, contained deleteri-
Gus substances. The utter falsity OF
such a belief is best shown in the fol-
lowing, which we extract of the opin-
ON of Prof. 2. T. Ousten, in the Bre'o.
er's Journal:
The terms "Clucose" and Grape
Sugar. are but different names for the
same thing. the former designating its
solution in water and the latter its solid
! condi tion, Both are produced from
starch. which, by q simple chemical
process. is converted into sugar. The
| change is but slight one, as the chem
! ical elements of starch and Of sugar are
indentical in. kind, varying only, anu
that to a very small degree, in their
| proportions. 1t has been found that
starch can be converted into grape sugar
by a simple process. 1t is called 'Grape
| Sugar, because it Is precisely the same
as the sugar Of the grape, as well as OF
| all other sweet and wholesome fruits,
and is the chief natural component OF
honey. Honey often runs as high as
seventy per cent. of pure glucose, and
the Juice of the sugar-cane, sorghum,
beet and water melon contains q con-
| siderable percentage OF it.
The starch intended for conversion
| l.
convenient or economical, whether IL
be from fruits, grains, roots or plants
In this country, corn is the most avail
able being not only abundant, but ex-
| ceedingIy rich in starch Of q most pure
and excellent quality. The starch be-
ing given, which Is itself most useful
and universal product of nature, being
a constituent of all vegetable growth,
and forming large proportion OF the
| food that we eat, the next step Is to con-
! vert it into the sugar to which 1t Is al
| ready so nearly allied.
This is done by simply submitting the
starch, in liquid form, TO the action ola
minute percentage of diluted sulphuric
acid which quickly produces tine re-
quired change.
As soon as this is accomplished, the
acid is completely neutralized ana elm
| mated by the addition OF little chaiR,
which combines with it, forming the IN
| soluble and harmless Sulphate OF lime,
J or gypsum, which in It's turn Is EN-
tirely removed, after settling, by draw
ing off the clear, saccharine llquiu.
This is then filtered and refined pre-
cisely as in the case of canesugar, so
that the most searching chemical test
can discover no trace of sacid or any
harmful impurities.
We then have, wheH properly evapo-
rated, apure, sweet and colorless syrup
called "tilucose," or by further evapo.
ration, the concentrated, white and
solid substance called "Grape Sugar"
"GIucose" is from the Greek gtuktS,
sipnifying street.. The origin OF the
term TGrape Sugar" has already been
given. These commercial titles have
served to mystify the public, and have
misled people, or, perhaps, permitted
others to mislead them, as to the true
character of these products. Were
they simply called "COrn Syrup" and
"Corn Sugar. their names would truly
indicate lust what they are, and the
mystery would be dispelled.
Glucose and grape sugar are no new
things. In 1892, nearly one hundred
years ago, the sugar of the grape was
discovered in Germany, by two chem.
lists, Lowitz and Proust, who advocated
the cultivation of the grape for the pur-
pose of obtaining this sugar for the
| home market.
In 1911, or more than seventy years
since, Kirchoff, an eminent Russian
chemist, made the discovery that starch
| could be easily converted into sugar,
and that such sugar was, not merely
| similar to, but was identically the same
as the sugar of the grape The vast i'm
portance of this great discovery was at
once and universally acknowledged.
Upon it was founded an industry that
has fiourished and grown in Europe
| with ever increasing strength, for more
than half a century, and is still extend
| ing. In 1880, the consumption OF this
article in France. Holland, Belgium
and Germany, reached the enormous
quantity of eighty thousand tons per
| annum.
Inthe United States its manufacture
is of comparatively recent origin, but
already the factories for its production
employ thousands of people, and repre-
sent an investment of not far from
twenty millions of dollars, consuming
an immense quantity of our great staple
corn, and turning it into glucose (eorn-
syrup, of IA quality that is not surpass-
ed by any. produced in the world.
But, as might have been expected,
the introduction into America of this
manufacture, so old in Europe, coming
in contact, as 1t inevitably would, not
with established interests, created
alarm and aroused opposition In some
quarters.
Some of those whose interests were
threatened have unscrupulouslym align-
cd and misrepresented glucose and
grape sugar. They have pronounced
them adulterants, and denounced them
as poisons destructive to health, and
have relied upon the lack of public in
formation in regard to them to prop
agate an adverse opinion among the
masses. They have used the press
unsparingly. They have invoked leg
islative aid, and have even besought
the Conrgess of the United States TO
crush for them this great and growing
business But investigation furnished
such overwhelming proof OF the great
value of tbss manu- facture to the people
and the country, that no official prohibi-
Toy action has been taken.
| Ii has been stated briefly and simply
aad without the use Of any technical
terms, just what glucose is, and how it is
prepared. II will be seen, there can be
no poison in it, or anything in the
least degree unwholesome. Ii is true
that the employment Of acid is used as
bugbear by its antagonists to frighten
credulOus people; but, as we have said
before, there is no acid remains in it,
not q particle, any more than there is
in the soda water we drink prepared
from sulphuric acid and carbonate of
lime. 1t is so easy to remove the acid,
as every chemist knows, that any failure
to do so would be the result of slovenly
manufacture, which would leave upon
the manufacturers hands an unmer-
charitable article.
The merits of glucose may be briefly
summed up as fellows: 1t is one of the
purest and most wholesome sugars, far
purer in every way than many kinds Of
molasses, which is reallya side product,
or residue, in the manufacture of cane
sugar. It's the liquid from which no
4 800, aana aay ha arvSf aIliLa1