The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1886-08-26
THE INVENTOR OF sACCHARINE.
An Accident Leads to ON Important Discovery
A Substance Which Out Sugars Sugar.

An Accident Leads to on Important Discovery
A Substance Which Out-sugars Sugar.
DR.. Constantine Fahlberg, the in
yentor or discoverer of saccharine, the
new coal tar sugar, is tall, well-bullt,
handsome German-American,, OF about
thrty-eight years of age. He speaks the
modern languages huently, and despite
the celebrity that has SO suddenly fallen
, upon him, is quite diffident and re-
served. TO an inquiring reporter, who
had called upon him for the express pur-
pose of conversing with him on the new
sweetening agent, lie said:
GLOW did discover saccharine? Well,
it was partly by accident and partly by
study had worked long timo upon
the compound radicals and substitution
products of coal tar, and had made a
number of scientific discoveries that arc,
so far as L know, of no commercial
value. One evening was SO Interested
i'll my laboratory that I forgot about
supper until quite late, and then rushed
OIL Tor meal without stopping to wash
my hands. L sat down, broke q piece of
Dread, and put it to my lips. It tasted
unspeakably sweet did not ask why
1T was so, probably because L thought it
vas some cake or sweetmeat. I rims ed
A-Ay mouth with water, and dried my
moustache with my napkin, when, to my
surprise, the napkin tasted sweeter than
the bread. Then was puzzled / again
raised my goblet and, as fortune would
" nave 1t, applied my mouth whero my
fingers had touched it before. The
water seemed syrup. 1t flashed upon me
that I was the cause of the universal
sweetness, and | accordingly tasted the
end of my thumb, and found that it slr-
passed any confectionery / had ever
eaten. [ saw the whole thing at glance.
L had discovered or made some coal tar
substance which out-sugarcd sugar.
dropped my dinner, and ran back to the
laboratory. There, in my excitement,
tasted the contents of every beaker
and evaporatirg dish on the table.
LuclSll y for me, mono contained any
corrosive or poisonous liquid.
Zone of them contained an impure
solution of saccharine On this L worked
then Tor weeks and months until L had
determined its chemical composition, it's
characteristics and reactions, and the
best modes of making it scientifically
Snd commercially. When [ first pub
llshed my researches, somc people
laughed as if it were scientific joke;
others, of more skeptical turn, doubted
the discovery and the discovercr, and
still others proclaimed the work as being
of no practical value. When the public
first saw saccharinc, however, everything
changed. The entire press, European
and American, described me and my
sugar in way that may have been cdify-
ing, but was simply amusing to me.
And then came letters. My mail has
run as high as sixty day. People
wanting samples of saccharine, my auto
graph, or my opinion on chemical
problems, desiring to become my part
ner, to buy my discovery, to be my
agent, to enter my laboratory and the
like.
a WONDERFUL SUCCESS.
"What have L done? L have started
company i'll Germany to manufacture
saccharlnc, with II capital of 1000, 900
marks. They are already at work, and
are now producing the new sugar. 1t
costs, OF rather we sell it, between SO
and $12 per pound, but will reduce these
figures considerably before year has
gone past. | would rather have started
IN this country, which is my homo, but
the high price of skilled labor, and the
high tariff on the crude materials (tinc
chemicals) of which succharinc is made.
deferred me and my friends from SO
doing. L will say, however, that if ap-
piled chemistry continues progressing as
it has done in the past decade, we shall
open branch works here within the next
five years."
Saccharine is proving q wonderful sue
cess. II is used already in many ways.
1t is employed by the makers of glucose
and beet sugar. These are inferior in
sweetness to cane sugar, but superior in
digcstibility and healthfulness. The ad-
dition Of n trihing fraction of saccharinc
makes them the equals of the finest cane
sugar in the market. Saccha...nc is SO
sweet that teaspoonful converts bar
rel of water into syrup. A small wafer
OF it converts the bittercst qllinine solu-
ton OF acid drink into q regular molas-
ses. 1t will, therefore, be invaluable
in Disgusting and destroying all the bit
ter and sour tastes in medicine without
changing the character or action of the
drugs.
Saccharinc does not decay, mould or
ferment, neither is it attacked by
bacteria. 1t has no injurious effect upon
the human system. What effect has
been noticed is rather beneficial than
otherwise. This immunity from decay
Will iclldof III OF great utility. Where
sugar is used as a flavor and not as a
food, it is bound to be replaced by sac
charine; where as a food and flavor COM
bined, it will not be. In the future the
new sugar will be used by druggists,
physicians, bakers, confcctioncrs, candy
makers, bottlers, preserve and pickle
makers, liquor distillers, wine makers
and dealers in bottlers' supplies.
THE FORMATION OF sAccHAKINE.
The new coal tar product, saccharinc,
which is expected TO prove very useful
on account of it's sweetening powcr-in
respect to which it stands to cane sugar
in the ratio of 900 to !, and with which
considerable antiseptic properties are
combined-was mentioned ut length by
Sir Sydney Roscoe in a recent discourse
at the Royal Institution. This new sub
stance was described by the lecturer rs
the most remarkable of all the marvel
GUS products of the coal tar industry. 1t
is not n sugar, but contains carbon,
hydrogen, sulphur, oxygen and nitrogen;
aud its chemical name is benzoyl sui
phuric imidC. 1t is ncither q nutrient