A careful search was made in the archives of the patent office, aided by the experts employed therein, to determine the number of patents issued in the conversion of starch into other products, and particularly to dextrine, gums, glucose and grape-sugar or dextrose. Possibly a few patents may have been overlooked, and perhaps two or three may have been included which do not belong to this category. A total of 64 patents treat of making dextrose or grape-sugar from starch. It is curious to note that the greatest activity in taking out patents was in the years 1880 to 1886 inclusive, during which time 27 patents were issued for this purpose. This was at the time the glucose industry was attracting public and financial attention, and naturaJly marked the era of greatest activities and inventions.
As has already been shown, all the principal methods used, with the exception of those covered by the patents of Mr. Newkirk, included substantially the processes employed in all dextrose factories at that time and subsequently. There seems to be nothing fundamentally new in any of the patents taken out by Mr. Newkirk since his resignation from the Bureau of Standards and his employment by the Corn Products Company. The patents taken out by Mr. Newkirk were at first assigned to the Corn Products Company, but later ones were assigned to the International Patents Developing Corporation, of Wilmington, Delaware.
