, 1875-10-13

r~TSSSf~Hs
at requires some genterprising individu-
al to put a high pricenupon his pretended
secret, in order to draw attention to it.
Ten years ago / gave the reason why dunder
increases the yield in rum, and lately I have
been penning some observations on the
distillation of rum, which embody all
that can and ever will be done to increase
the yield OF rum, from a given amount of
sweets, to its utmost extent.
cit was originally my intention to
write several articles on the distillation
of rum (; but having since been informed
that Mr.. Kennedy, of st. Thomas-in-tbe-
East, is about publishing a treatise on the
the same subject, I shall restrict myself
entirely to those features of the process
which are of purely chemical importance.
To-day, Alum shall be the subject of dis
cussi0n.
"There is only one way in which alum
can act upon wash, and that is by the
sulphuric acid or oil of yitriol which it
contains. Now alum is an article little if
ever inquired for in the market, while
oil of vitriol is abundant. | believe, there
fore, that it may be of some service to
my e%nterprising friends in We're to know
that one pound of sulphuric aciG, or oil
OF vitriol, is equal in effect to a little
more than three pounds of alum. There
is, however, some precaution to be taken.
Sulphuric acid, when employed in excess,
may iniure the, stills $50 may alum), and
accumulate in the dunder to such an ex-
tent as to check fermentation instead of
aiding it. Now, whenever the copper of
@ho nfin offor ,J1ukiHo+iOO oVnooP IN ho
particularly bright below the level of the
surface of the dunder, it is high time
either to throw away the dunder, or to
add somel wood ashes, or temper lime
to it, so as to take away the greater part
OF the acid.
81 see no reason why the dunder
should not be thrown away now
and again. A very good fermentation
will take place with skimmings, molasses
and water, besides the alum, or ~sulphuric
acid, without the dunder. Another annoy
snce which will show itself, in consequence
ofthe employment of alum or suIphuric
acid, is the formation OF a crust in the still {;
this must be removed as often as practical
BILE, for if this crust OF sulphate of alumni
nate of lime is allowed to acquire any
considerable thickness, it cannot be re-
moved without the greatest danger to the
still. Putting some coarse sea sand into
the still at every distillation may obviate
this danger in some measure.
1.-THE action of alum or sulphuric acid
can be readily explained. When cane
juice is defeated by lime, a part of the
lime goes into combination with the alumni
nous matter, organic acids, &C., another
and a greater part combines with sugar
and forms what is called saccharate oflime.
One pound of lime combines with six
pounds of sugar. This saccharate of lime
is found in the molasses. It is an antiseptic
substance, and prevents or checks fermen-
tAtion, SO much so that cane Juice, when
mixed with a sufficient quantity of lime,
may be preserved for many years perfectly
sound.
"By adding sulphuric acid to the mo-
lasses and skimmings, the saccharate of lime
is completely decomposed, gypsum is
formed, and the sugar is liberated. Dun
der acts in precisely the same manner, as
it contains large quantities Of acetic acid.
-"However, the acid in the dunder
isreally sufficient to decompose the whole
Of the lime salt, especially on estates where
large quantities OF temper lime are used
for, DELEGATION. The planters of Demerara
will, consequently, derive more benefit