The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1858-04-10
Sugar Making from the Sorghum.

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Sugar Making from the Sorghum.
I, Joseph 5. Lowering, an experienced
sugar reiner Of Philadelphia, during the
season of 1857, has reported series OF
experiments In making sugar from the
Sorghum plant, which effcctually settles
the question as to the possibility of ma
King sugar. and also the ease with which
1t can be manufactured. Nearly all the
experiments in this State resulted in q
production Of syru2 or moIasses of in
ferior quality, the only very superior
sample being that produced by Mr. s. 0.
Knapp, OF jackson, on fourth or fifth
trial. In conversation with Mr.. Knapp,
during his experiments, we suggested
that one Of the reasons of his want Of
success in making sugar, arose from the
syrup not being subjected to a sufficiently
high degree of heat 1t will be seen BY
what is related of the experiments of Mr..
Lowering, that to make crystalizable su-
gar, it is necessary to heat the syrup to a
temperature of 1862 to 240o or from 24o
to 280 higher than boiling water point.
We condense the report and give the
operations of Mr.. Lowering rather than
the details with all it's particulars, for
which we have not room.
The apparatus which Mr. Lowering used
is within the reach of every one 1t con-
sisted of a pair of iron rollers seven inch
es in diameter, and twelve inches long,
set in frame with a crank TO turn by
hand, spout set beneath to collect the
juice, few common sugar nolds, some
ivory black, or animal black. or bone cha
coal az ii is termed two filters made Of
bed-ticking, shaped like long pudding
bags, a thermometer, Beaume's saccha-
rometor, a copper kettle of ten gallons, IA
ladle, some tin pans, and pals to hold the
juice.
Mr.. Lowering found ty the use Of the
poiariscope, that the clarified juice of the
| cane cut on the 18th of September, or
before the seed was ripe, indicated 527
per cent. Of crystalizabls sugar in the
juice by weight. An experiment of the
same kind made on the % of October, on
juice taken from canes which had been
cut when the seed was ripe, and which
had withstood several nights of white
frost and also when the ice had made
nearly quarter OF an inch, indicated
I .29 per cent Of crystalizable sugar in
the juice. Showing that the proper time
to cut the canes is when the seed is ripe,
and also that the cane may be cut aud
stored away, or shocked in the field with
out suffering any deterioration.
The first attempt to make sugar was on
the 3Oth Of September, from canes cut
when the seed was just beginning to turn
brown. The result was dark, thick,
visoid mass, which stood six days with
out signs Of crystal, when it was placed
over fue aud kept warm for four days,
when it yielded crop of soft crystals
This parcel Was from the juice which
weighed 900 by the saccharometer, and
had been treated with milk of lime to
neutraIize the acid, aud was clarified with
eggs, and then b1lied down to z4Oo Fab
renhett
On the 18th, l4th, 18th aud 10th of
October, Ar, Lowering cut each day re-
spective!y fifty feet oil a row. In each
fifty feet there was about eighty-three
canes, which produced eight gallons of
juice that weighed ten degrees of the
sacharometer Five gallons of this juice
was first mixed with three tablespooafuls
of milk of lime, to ncutralize the acid
then pound of bone black was stirred in
with eggs, and the kettle was placed over
a slow fire, at 2l5o Fahrenheit, he took
off ''dense, thick, green scum" In one
of the parcels the eggs We're omitted
The whole was boiled down to a syrup of
strength that marked 22o of the saccha-
romcter, and left to stand for FIVE DAYS
They were then again clarified with eggs
and scum again taken off, then raised
to 225' F., and clear lime wat er was ad-
ded In small quantities, to coagulate the
vegetable albumen, uhich is not disenqa-
ged at to,eer temperature, but which
then is seen as a whitish scum, very tena-
cious and glatinous, which is very detri-
mental to crystalization. Mr. Lowering
then tried to filter the syrup, but found
it SO ropy and tenacious that it would not
run He then diluted it till it was only
l00 of the saccharometer, when it filtered
freely, 1t was then passed through five
feet Of animal black, which made it part
with its eolorlng matter. This lot was
divided into three parts: the first was
boiled to 230o f., which was found to be
too low; the second was boiled 23so f.,
and the two were mixed, and in few
minutes crystals began to appear. The
third was boiled to 23s' +. These par
ccls were all put in sugar nods, and the