Sugar is an aliment and condiment. It is also, medically, an alterative
and a demulcent. Finely pulverized loaf sugar and gum arabic, in equal
proportions, form an excellent and soothing compound for inflamed throats,
catarrh, and nasal irritations, to be taken dry, by mouth and nostrils,
and often repeated.
Pure loaf sugar is white, brittle, inodorous, permanent in the air, and of
a specific gravity of 1.6. It is chemically expressed thus: C24, H22, O22.
It is nutritious to a certain extent, but alone will not support life for
an unlimited length of time. This is owing to the entire absence of
nitrogen in its composition. By analysis, sugar is resolved into carbon,
oxygen, and hydrogen.
Pulverized sugar is often adulterated with starch, flour, magnesia, and
sometimes silex and terra alba. Loaf sugar, however, is usually found to
be pure.