The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1858-08-19
Gbr Dousr anu Farm.
The Manufacture Of Sugar and Syrup
from the Chinese Sugar Cane.

To the Editors ot'the Home Journal -
DEAR SIRs II herewith send YOU
an extract from the Agricultural
Report of the U. S, Patent Office,
for 1857, as prepared by Mr.. Brown,
the head of the Agricultural di-
vision, on the subject Of the manufacture
OF syrup and sugar from the Chinese
sugar cane, with the hope that you may
find room for its publication, and that il
may be copied generally by other journ-
ais in the State as have no doubt but
il will be read with deep interest by the
farmers of Iowa. 1t is now conceded
that the best soil and climate for a luxu-
RANT crop of Indian corn. will mature
equally well this variety of sugar cane.
Hence the farmers of this State NAV
readily supply themselves and neghbors,
by the simple process indicated in this
extract, with sugar and molasses, at a
lower rate than it can be furnished from
abroad.
Your obi Servant,
JAMES HARLAN.
SIN the first place it is necessary TO
filter the juice of the plant, as it comes
from the mill, in order to remove cell
lulous and fbrous matters and starch, all
of which are present in ii when express
ed. A bag tilterer, or one made of a
blanket placed in basket, will answer
this purpose, Next, we have to add
sufficiency of milk of lime THAT is. slack
ed and mixed with water) to the juice,
to render it slightly alkaline, as Shown
by its changing eumeric paper to
brown color, or Redeemed litmus paper
to blue. A small excess of lime is not
injurious. After this addition, the Juice
should be boiled, say for fifteen minutes.
A thick green scum rapidly collects on
the surface, which is to be removed by
skinner, and then the liquid should
again be filtered 1t will now be of a
pale straw color, and ready for evapora-
ZION, and may be boiled down quite rap
idly to about half its original bulk, after
which the fire must be kept low, the
evaporation to be carried on with great
caution, and the syrup constantly stir
red to prevent its burning to the bottom
of the kettle or evaporaling pan. Por-
tons OF the syrup are to be taken out,
from time to time, and allowed to cool,
to see if it is dense enough TO orystalize.
1t should be about as dense as sugar
house molasses or tar. When it has
reached this condition, it may be with
drawn from the evaporating vessel, and
be placed in tubs or casks 10 granulate.
Crystals of sugar will begin to form
generally in three or four days, and
sometimes nearly the whole mass will
granulate, leaving but little molasses to
be drained After it has solidiied, it may
be scooped out into conical bags, made
OF coarse open cloth, or of canvas, which
are to be hung over some vessels to re-
ceiye the molasses; and the drainage
being much aided by warmth, it will be
useful 10 keep the temperature of the
room at 800 or 90 . +. After some
days, L may be removed from the bags,
and will be found to be good brown
sugar. 1t may now be refined by dissol-
wing it in hot water, adding to the solu-
ton some white of eggs, (say one egg
for 100 pounds of sugar, mixed with
cold water, after which, the temperature
is to be raised to boiling, and the syrup
allowed to remain at that heat for half
an hour Then skim and filter to re-
move the coagulated albumen and i'm
purities it has extracted from the sugar.
By means of bone black such as is
prepared for the sugar refners, the su-
gar may be decolored, by adding an
ounce to each gallon of the saccharine
solution, and boiling the whole together
Then filter, and you will obtain nearly
colorless syrup. Eyaporate this, as be-
fore directed, briskly, to half its bulk,
and then slowly until dense enough to
erystalize, leaving the syrup as before in
tubs or pans, to granulate. This sugar
will be of a light brown color, and may
now be clayed, or whiened, by the usual
method that is, by putting it into cones,
and pouring Il saturated solution of white
sugar upon it, SO as 10 displace the mo-
lasses, which will drop from the appen-
dix of the cone when inverted. 1t is
now refined or loaf sugar.
The methods here described are the
common cheap ones, such as any farmer
can employ. 1t may be advantageous,
WntH Operations Oh cUll5lupGaDlt extent
IRE contemplated. to arrange a regular
system of shallow evaporaung pans for
the concentration of the syrup, similar TO
those now used in Vermont for making
maple sugar,
1t is evident that no ordinary methods
can compete with those of u regular SUI
gar refinery, where vacuum pans are en-
pioyed, and evaporation is consequently
carried on at low temperature. If The
planter should raise sufficiently large
crops to warrant the expense of such AN
apparatus on his place, he would not fail
TO manufacture large quantities of sugar
and to operate with perfect success, but
this can be done only il the Southern,
Middle or Western States, where extern
sive farming is common. Those who
wish to have their brown sugar clarified,
can send it to some of the larger retiner
les, where the operation may be compile
ted, and the sugar put up III the usual
form of white loayes.
4 very large proportion of our agri-