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T H E T R U T H A B O U T C H E W IN G G U M
Gum Is a Health and Nerve T onic as W ell as an Econom ic Agent.
By H A R V E Y CARR
“ W here does chewing gum come
fr o m /’ and “ why can’t you chew it
up” are two questions asked by all
ages o f persons. The answers to
these questions vary. Some say that
chewing gum comes from chicle and
others say from Mexico. Some say
that “ you can’t consume chewing
gum, because you can’t, its the way
its made.”
Malicious attempts have been made
at frequent intervals to discredit
chewing gum, most o f which have
been based upon ill founded stories
o f disease and filth. These stories
date back prior to the present highly
efficient and cleanly methods em
ployed in the manufacture o f gum.
The modern methods have also had
their attacks which have been decis
ively defeated in every instance.
Some stories were current a few
years ago that the chicle used con
tained a mass o f dirt, flies and filth.
Nothing could be further from the
truth as the chicle is derived from a
juice which is first refined and then
prepared.
Whatever foreign sub
stance may by accident get into the
juice as it is conveyed from the tree
to the refinery is thoroughly elimi
nated from the juices in the refining
process.
These unwarranted attacks have
been directed toward the making of
sugar and candies and other con fec
tions and household necessities by
demagogues who are not content to
see thousands given employment and
hundreds o f thousands given diver
sion and pleasure, by which money is
made to earn for all.
The time story o f the origin, the
source and the making o f chewing
gum will prove o f interest to every
confectioner, Artemus Ward in his
Encyclopedia o f F ood describes the
origin o f chewing gum. He says:
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“ The original ‘ chewing gum’ was
spruce gum, an exudation from cut
branches o f the spruce or fir tree.
Later, pure white paraffin wax, vari
ously flavored, took its place— but in
its turn gave way to the chicle now
almost exclusively employed. Chicle
is a gum obtained from the ‘latex,’
or milky juice, secreted by the bark
o f the Achras Sapota, the tree which
bears the Sapodilla, one o f the most
delicious o f tropical fruits. A ccord
ing to tradition, the Indians made use
o f chicle at a very early date as a
means o f quenching their thirst.
First imported into this country as a
substitute fo r rubber, its peculiar
suitability fo r chewing gum soon re
sulted in the entire product being
consumed by that industry.
“ The Sapodilla tree— or Naseberry,
as it is also called— is a handsome
evergreen which reaches a height o f
fifty to sixty feet. It is ingidenous
to M exico and Central America, the
chief sources o f chicle, but it is also
now found in every tropical country.
“ The trees are ‘tapped’ during the
rainy season. The ‘ chiclero’ lashes
criss-cross incisions in the bark the
full height o f the maintrunk, and the
bluish-white, viscous ‘milk’ trickles
down the channels thus form ed into
a canvas bag supported in place at the
fo o t o f the tree. Great care is exer
cised to prevent bark particles and
other foreign substances from falling
into the ‘sap’ as they are very diffi
cult to remove. The amount o f sap
secured from a tree varies according
to its size. Several quarts may be
yielded before the flow stops, but
after this the tree is not ripe fo r re
tapping fo r a number o f years.
“ The chiclero collects the exuded
milk daily in a large canvas sack.
A fter the rounds are made, it, is car
ried to the ‘camp,’ and there boiled
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