, 1861-10-01

.As doabta have beea entertained by many u
to ths possibility Of crssta1l'1ing the syrup
made ftom Chinese sugar Cane, or Sozgho 6h-
CIT, tbs following facts and principles are pre-
sented, not only to throw Light On the subject,
but also to drive away the doubts Of thosa
Who seem almost perve1sely Ignorant ppon
the subject.
The manufacture OF sugar from tbs Chinese !
Sugar Cane, like that Of the tropical cane, Is !
beset with many difficulties, arising not only I
from the extreme liability Of rapid change Of |
Juice from exposure to the atmosphere, as 1t
runs from the crushing mill: b9t more ira.
quently IRON the unrtpe and damaged state Of |
the plant itself. Hence, In order to insure
succets, It is necessary that the process be
conducted under certain conditions oftemper-
ature, modes Of neutral1zing the free acids
contained In the juice, aud the removal Of the
,albu,nlnous matter previous to evaporation
and cr5stalHzstiou. 4 fresh, thin, transverse
section Of ripe cane Is diaphanous Tor traa1-
luceut] resembling similar slice Of an apple
CT tunip, when seeu by the uaked eye: Under
the microscope it exhibits cellular structure,
the cells containing. a TRANSPARENT fluid, but
presenting no appearance Of crystals OF opaque
matter. # the slice be dried, It becomes alter
ed in Its appearance, being no longer homoge>
neous, as seen through common magnifYing
glass Or with TIE unaided eye; little dots Of
Opaque, whitish matter are visible, e,protruding,
apparently, from the divided longitud tubes
and transparent calls, as seen surrounding
these opaque dots, in which, when placed in
1o
which it nay be inferred are sugar, formed In
consequence Of the evaporation Of the aque-
ous pa1t Of the juice Of the cells These facts
would seem TO prove that The saeehazina mat
ter Of the cane exista in Ii, in state Of solu-
ton, according to the commonly received
|. opinion.
| In the manner in which the cane juice Is
usually obtained by the pressure Of rollens, tt
consists Of = compound, not only Of what it
holds In solution, but Whatever it contains in
.suspeneion. However carefully expressed, it
il never at this time TRANSPARENT, but in
slight degree colored and sturbld-~ If Viewed
| under microscope Of high power, innumer-
( ahe granu1es.will be seen floating In tbs aufd,
varying In diameter from 10 900 to Il, 600 parts
Of an inch. By carsful fltration through bib.
Nous paper, most Of these granules will BE-
separated, and the liquid wln be rendered
nearly transparent. The matter Of which they
chiefly consist, it is believed, Is Of the nature
of gluten, aud haa the power Of exciting fer
4 mentstion, even # kept q year. It IL ques.
tien not fully determined whether this gluti1.
GUS matter exists separated in the juice, when
contained in the cells whether it is separated
from the walls Of the cells, Or is produced BY
the minute fragments Of ths longitudinal
tubes Of the cane, by the pressure employed.
It may here be remarked that, beaides gluten,
there may be other proxinate principles sus.
pended in fresh canej juice, such as starch. gum,
wax, &c; but their presence, IN the minute
quantities in which they occur, is probably Of
little importance il pracace,-
As to the question whether the saeehaEine
matter contained In cane,jnice Is altogether
susceptible Of being crTsta1i1zed Into sugar, OF
int tpart consists et other varieties Of sugar,
which are not crystalllzable, Or on1y 10 with
difficulty, it may be stated that VARIOUS opia.
ions have been expressed By chemists in this
respect. n. HerVey, Of France, contends
existence In the cane, and thRt' the formation
ofglncoee {grape sugar. or molasses Is only oE'
ing to the action Of the salts contained IN the
liquid during the manufacturing process. BE
! IBIS 81 1t may, It IS cerLa1n Luht LIS gl6ate1
PORTION ct tie sacchariae matter Of the juice
is crystaluzable, and may be Obtained in the
state Of c1ystals, If, after rapid boiling and
| fltesing, the clear fluid be quickly evaporated,
The latter operation being condition Of alb.
eofute necessity in sugar making, as, by slow
boiling, at q temperature Of 212 deg, OF even
expceGre for considerable time too tsmpegat
t11e below the boiiiug point, glucose may be
formed from the a1>s. crystallized sugar dis
eolvedin water. On he contrary, If the con
| eent1ated solutieu If sugar be heated beyond
$50 deg. r, 1t rndergoes alteration, aud il
changed, at least In part, into uncrJ5tal1!zabi:
tugaf, or sacehatine mueilage. When We con
eider how nearly allied these varieties o
sugar are, aud likewise how nearly allied il
their composition they are to other substan
cee, such as gum. starch, woody fibre, &:,
VS. cannot be surprised either as the conver
: zion Of one kind Of sugar into another, or int
these substances, or at the formation Of suga
from them. The shove pamed substances ar
cbe emicRl]3 isoeaer&es, that fe nearly identical
!. competition, so far as their elements are con
cerned. and the proportions Of these elements
, though the substances, gum and sugar, nra 81
! different in their properties. These reflection
| may be applied With much force to the Re
suits obtained in the elementary analysis 9
various kinds Of sugar presented in the fol
! lowing table;