In the case of Spain, the result of beet-sugar cultivation was disastrous. The price of cane-sugar in Cuba and the Philippine Islands fell to such a low point that the islands could not pay the taxes imposed by the mother country. Instead of lowering the taxes and adjusting affairs to the changed conditions, the Spaniards drove the islands into rebellion, and the latter finally resulted in war with the United States, and the loss of the colonies. Great Britain wisely adjusted her colonial affairs to the changed conditions, but the British colonies suffered greatly from beet-sugar competition. =Production and Consumption.=--The production and consumption of sugar increased about sevenfold during the latter half of the nineteenth century, the increase being due very largely to the decreased price. Thus, in 1850, white (loaf) sugar was a luxury, retailing at about twenty cents per pound; in 1870 the wholesale price of pure granulated sugar was fourteen cents; in 1902 it was not quite five cents. Although the tropical countries are greatly handicapped by the political legislation of the European states, they cannot supply the amount of sugar required, unless the area of production be greatly extended. It is also certain that without governmental protection, sugar growing in the temperate zone cannot compete with that of the tropical countries. Of the eight million tons of sugar yearly consumed, two-thirds are beet-sugar. The annual consumption per capita is about ninety pounds in Great Britain, seventy pounds in the United States, and not far from thirty-five pounds in Germany and France. In Russia and the eastern European countries it is less than fifteen pounds. =Molasses.=--The molasses of commerce is the uncrystallizable sugar that is left in the vacuum pans at the close of the process of evaporation. The molasses formerly known as "sugar house" is a filthy product that nowadays is scarcely used, except in the manufacture of rum. The color of molasses is due mainly to the presence of "caramel" or half-charred sugar; it cannot be wholly removed by any ordinary clarifying process. Purified molasses is usually known as "sirup," and much of it is made by boiling a solution of raw sugar to the proper degree of concentration. A considerable part is made from the sap of the sorghum-cane, and probably a larger quantity consists of glucose solution colored with caramel. Maple-sirup, formerly a solution of maple-sugar, is now very largely made from raw cane-sugar clarified and artificially flavored. =Glucose.=--Glucose, or grape-sugar, is the natural sugar of the grape and most small fruits. Honey is a nearly pure, concentrated solution of glucose. Grape-sugar has, roughly, about three-fifths the sweetening power of cane-sugar. Natural grape-sugar is too expensive for ordinary commercial use; the commercial product, on the other hand, is artificial, and is made mainly from cornstarch.