The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1921-10-20
America Now Producing Costly
Sweets Used in the Detection
Of Disease Germs.
RESULT OF WAR NECESSITY
PROMPT Work Of Chemists Of Great
Assistance In Fighting Typhoid
In A. z. F.-Elaborats Care
Necessary.

those costly sweets used In the de-
lection of disease germs.
The most expensive Of these. quoted
At several hundred dollars Q pound
IL far beyond the reach Of the average
housewife, and yet 1t plays an i'm
portant part in scientific research ana
must be obtained.
At the outbreak OF the European
war the group of rare sugars used In
cur laboratories was manufactured In
Germany. The Teutons had such q
hold on the processes that they were
able at any time to destroy competi-
ton
One Of these sugars IL OF exceptional
value in the detection of typhoid, as
the organisms Of that disease ares SO
fond Of 1t that they naturally select
It and 80 multiply upon it that their
presence can readily be detected. The
military hospitals of the United
States called upon members OF the
American Chemical Society to coop
crate In the making OF rare bacterl-
illogical sugars for typhoid work, and,
according to a bulletin issued by that
society these efforts soon proved sue
cessful. The fact that the health OF
the American expeditionary force IN
France was SO good was largely due
to the quest for typhoid germs which
was made possible by the preparation
Of these unusual saccharine substances
In laboratories of the United States.
The investigations which developed
from the employment of these agents
did much to forestall outbreaks OF
typhoid fever and to Indicate the need
Of special vigilance In vaccination
against that dread disease, which In
the Spanish American war caused
more deaths than did the bullets Of
the enemy.
Guides In Selecting Germs.
Other rare sugars are used as guides
In the detection Of cholera germs and
are therefore Invaluable as weapons
against the pestilence which walks In
darkness.
Psychological or rare sugars re-
quire the utmost care in handling, for
the presence of any impurities or Of
another kind Of sugar renders them
unit for the precise purposes for
which they are intended. 1t requires
the utmost patience and scientific
skill to put them through the various
steps of publication. Often through
some slight slip or mishap days of
work may be lost, and 1t is necessary
to 20 back and repeat the processes
in order to obtain the required stand
ard.
for the seemingly enormous prices at
which the rare sugars are listed. High
as these costs may appear they are
said to yield only nominal profits to
the manufacturers.
The most expensive rare sugar
quoted in the catalogue Is dulcltol, for
which 1915 pound Is asked,
Mannose Is worth $40 a pound. The
Ivory nut better known as vegetable
IVORY" Is imported In large quantities
from Ecuador, and Is used for the
manufacture Of buttons for coats and
gowns The chemist makes mannose
from the scraps OF the button fac
tories, but the high cost Of the result
ing product Is due to the many &C
curate processes through which he
must put 1t In order to obtain abso-
lutte purity.
Sugar From Mama.
Another sugar Is mannite. derived
from mama. that nutritive gum with
which the Bible tells us the children
Of Israel were m!raculously Ted during
their wanderings In the Wilderness.
Mamma Il secreted from a tree and
forms In thin scales, which at certain
times and under unusual weather con-
ditions may be blown high into the
air by the wind and then deposited
upon the ground. The Biblical nara
tive recounts that the Hebrews found
the bread from heaven lying upon
the earth In the early hours OF the
morn. Az mama has delicate and
QGt1C1UUS k64kG W4AN0 AE0CAuUAC0 IAAt
Of q sweet wafer. It L. not SO good
when long exposed to the air-as Is
also told In Holy Writ
XyloSe, held at $40 q pound Is
made from the lowly corn cob.
Inulin b derived from the bulbs OF
the dahlia. but can be obtained at only
certain seasons Of the year.
Other rare sugars are: Aribinose, for
which 500 pound II asked; leyu-
lose. an $50 pound product; and raf-
finose, for which the manufacturing
chemist receives SIS a pound.
Only small quantities Of these su-
cars are employed at time in the
30 they are usually sold
In Is Gramme bottles, or by the
ounce. An ounce Of some OF them
would last even q busy bacteriologist
l year.
American chemists feel that in pla-
cling these aids to medicine at the dis
position Of research distinct step
has been made ON the road to chem
- qnAnrondnnNA