When employed in this country it should only be used as an adjunct to other kinds of food more rich in force-producers. Boiled, as an addition to meat, or in the form of pudding or curry, it may be judiciously employed, as a variety, especially in the food of the young. Case 9 shows the analysis of rice, and many samples of the grain are exhibited in the Collection. SUGAR. Sugar has a chemical composition very nearly resembling starch, but it differs in both chemical and physical properties. Sugar is soluble in water, whilst starch is only diffusible through it. Sugar undergoes the process of fermentation, which starch does not. Sugar has a sweet taste, while starch is almost tasteless. Starch is, however, convertible into sugar by the agency of nitrogenous substances. If starch is placed in contact with saliva a little time it becomes soluble, and gives the reactions of sugar; and it is probable that in this way starch itself becomes absorbed into the blood. Sugar, like starch, assumes various forms, and three of these are found in common articles of diet. These are cane sugar, grape sugar, and milk sugar. The action of sugar on the system is identical with starch. As it is more readily absorbed into the blood than starch, it is better adapted as a force-producer for the young. Hence it is found supplied to the young in all the mammalia, in the milk secreted by their mothers. That it is adapted for the young is shown by the instinctive propensity children display to partake of this form of diet. Although adapted for children, the facility with which it decomposes renders it frequently injurious to adults. Most plants contain sugar in their roots. But in some large quantities are deposited, as in the sugar beet, which is employed most extensively in France and on the continent of Europe for the supply of sugar for dietetical purposes. A series of specimens illustrating products from beet-root, including sugar, from Messieurs Serret, Hamoir, and Co., of Valenciennes, are exhibited in the Collection. Sugar is the basis of all kinds of confectionery, specimens of which are exhibited by Messrs. Fortnum and Mason, of Piccadilly, in Case 111. Samples of sugar are exhibited in Cases 17, 110, 112, and 113, some of which have obtained been from other plants than the sugar cane. Fruits after being saturated with sugar are also preserved and kept dry. In Case 15 preserved fruits of various kinds are exhibited by Messrs. Fortnum and Mason. It is in this way that fruits are brought to this country which otherwise would not be seen on account of their perishing nature. _Treacle_ or _Molasses_ is the uncrystallized portion of sugar which is separated by draining from the brown sugar.