Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1861-08-11

IMPORTANT DISCOVERY IN SUGAR-MAKNG.-
In late number OF the Journal FAgricuLtafre
the editor. NJ. Barral, speaks of the new pro-
cess of NJ. Rousseau for the fabrication of
sugar, as being likely to cause a revolution
in this branch of industry. We are inclined
to receive with distrust the glowing accounts
that The French are wont to give of their
great discoveries, yet we cheerfully acknowl
edge that some OF these have proved of great
advantage to agricultural science, and hope
that this new process may, on further trial,
be found to possess all the merit claimed for
it. and that our western farmers may be able
to use it successfully in the manufacture of
sugar from the sorghum. The chemical
agents employed are cheap, have no injurious
action on the human system or the saccharine
juices. The repeated vibrations through ami
NAL charcoal, which are now used for refin-
ing sugar, are said to be unnecessary, and
the evaporation OF the syrup can be effected
in simple apparatus.
The juice that is extracted from the sac
chariferous plant is generally colOrless as
long as it remains in the cells of the plant,
but changes rapidly on exposure to the air,
because it contains albumenOid matters and
other substances, which are colored brown
or black by the action of oxygen. Nj. Rous-
seau removes the albumenoid matter by heat
ing the saccharine juice in boiler with
three-thousandths of its weight of sulphate OF
lime (plaster of paris) pulverized. When the
LIQUID reaches 212o, all the coagulable mat
ters rise to the surface and unite in firm
head, and perfectly clear juice remains. which
may be drawn Off This juice, if lett exposed
to the air, will become as black as ink, but if
from to per cent OF its weight of by drated
per oxide of iron be stirred in, it is freed in
few seconds from all the changeable organic
matters, aud continues for an indefinite
period colorless. Nothing now remains to be
done but TO evapOrate the water and thus
obtain crystaliZed sugar. NJ. Barral remarks
that be has been able to try the experiment
only in the laboratory, but he has tried it
enough to satisfy him that the application on
a large scale will be successful. In subse-
q lent number of his journal he reafirms his
| belief in the valne of this discovery, and says
| that be has made excellent sugar by this pro-
| cess. He moreover says that In few days
an experiment will be made on large scale,
and in September next, after the gathering OF
i the beet crop, this process will be employed
| in one of the large sugar-houses IN France,
| and several farm sugar-houses Will be lifted
| up, which the farmers Can visit, and ascertain
| for themselves all the profit that they can de-
rive from this discovery. This process has
/ no perceptible effect in removing the coloring
/ matter of brown sugar after the juice has be-
come oXydiZed by exposure to the air; the
repeated filtrations through animal charcoal
| are then necessary to refine the sugar.
We will here mention, for the benefit of our
western friends, the remark of an experienced
sugar refiner of this city, that one reason Of
| the failure to make sugar from the sorghum
in many cases, is that the whole stalk Ii
ground up, top and ALI whereas the toI
should be cut off and only the main body o
the stalk ground. The top often contains al
acid which binders the sugar from crystaliz
ing, but does not prevent the making of goot
syrup.-EAHaer Agricuturist.