Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1888-09-22
ART OF SUGAR REFINING.
DELICATE PROCESSES FOR Elk
TRACING THE SUBSTANCE.
Transforming the Brown. Sandy
Raw Material Into Barrctfuls OF
Elistcnip~ sweetness.

Gli>tcninc sweetness.
The general process Of sugar refining
= simple and easy 10 gather. but IN tie
part, that do not show a most delicate
manipulate II j, required.
\ Boston -i/trrf,str reporter recently
exploited the my~'efic~ of turning tue
brown, sandy, law ~ IN the store
house into the inrrclfu!s Of white,
ShinInr sutc ness that the coopers Were
leading up on the lower floor.
FIIc pro. csses Of sugar lctnlng are
simply tnese&>. The >u-ar IS melted 10 q
certain degree Of density. and at The
proper degree Of heat is strained, just "a
civ i, strained. to get the dlrt ont,
Then il is filtered through boneblack To
take ont the coloring matter. Finally Il
is boiled dowal INTO sugar again.
The sugar IS dumped INTO a great vat,
melted in hot water and stirred up With
4 constantly moving stlrIcr. Astralner
remove the bits OF bag and stick. iie
barrel. and bags are washed and stct1uei
10 get all the sugar out, and e.cn the
s~crapings from the floor are saved The
melted sugar now goes into the refinery,
where its density and heat are carefuay
established.
The interior of the refinery IS all ups
and downs, narrow step ladders ana n
temperature Of about 10 degrees tie
men work bare to the waist. After miN-
lnr. the srgar goes 10 the la- filters y
oct nd Of the dirt. he filters are & n
tanned IN chambers with perforated
roofs. Each hole in the roof is fitted
| with a. neck or bottle.;'' from the bottle
| dcpcnls a linen bag. closed at the lower
- tt,t;l, thu har &c :. rillnyy-raC ca
t. the bags pillow, is a stout sheath 10
| prevent the bag from bursting. The
| melted sugar is poured in over the top,
| and as it runs down through the BAG 1t
leaves most of the foreign matter. The
sugar is followed BY Il stream Of pare
water that washes all the sugar out.
| The refuse, which looks like DARK mud.
is stripped" from the bags, SO that they
can he washed.
Tee sugar is now bright and.clear, but
still Of a dark brown color. There IS .
black, granular substance driving about
in one or two of the oo1ns that Will sc
move this color. Thatkubstance i, bone
black, beef bones burned and ground.
Boucblach looks hike gunpowder- 1t
has u medium grain, and 1t IS lust this
gram and 10 other that will do for filter
ing sugar. The boneblach is heated led
hot in enclosed chambers, allowed TO
partly cool, away from the air, then 1t IS
slowly passed through the rooms, cool
inc, till it reaches the char filters. >
When these are charged, the sugar IS
poured III at the top, Il dark cOiOtCu
mud, and It eolnes out at the bottom As
clear as water. Toward the last Of the
tiltcrlnNy the char" loses its power, and
t1e sugar begins to get yellow. 1t IS
from that the brown and yellow sugars
are made.
Next the sugar is boiled. l. is pumped
into the boilers, vacuum pans, which as
soon as filled to u certain height are
closed and the air exhausted. 1t iojis
at Il lower temperature than PIP degrees.
Then the sirup bubble, and boils, TIL ~
a change, only perceptible to a skillful
eye, the grain begins to come. In GOES
more melted sugar, and the glainin-
yoc, on until the p~cep-holes IN the pan
are clogged with sugar, and the Whole
pan filled with a mixture of sugar and
~irup. The boiling requires no ordinary
skill and judgment. The first filling Of
thc pan must be just SO or 1t will he
spoiled. The workman must decide the
size Of the grain by careful boiling, and
shut of the steam when the right mo
ment IS reached.
Next follow the Centr:lugals, where
the mixture bccomes sugar. Down FROM
the vat, under the pans, through Il spout
the sugar falls, fifty pound at a time, into
a hollow cylinder surrounded by ;
pocket. The wall of the cylinder IS :
fine sieve. The cylinder Involves ST
times a minute, and the moist susat
flies up the side III its hurry to ret away
from the center of revolution. IAt
slrnp spurts out through the tiny hole
IN the SIEVE. and the grained sugar alon,
remains. The rup all extracted, III,
sugar is washed, still revolving, with
hose.
Drying is done by passing a warm cur
rent of air through the sugar as it slit
through a revolving sieve. 1t is thc1
boltcd like flour by machinery, and ruI
off into barrels. labeled and coopered
Then it is ready to ship away. Eacl
days melting is run through aS soon a
possible, and il is a possibility tia
brown sugar landed from the vessel il
the morning may be shipped in the even
ing. Granulated sugar leaves b hind tcl
t per cent. of It's weight in water and dir.
There is a big product IN this process .
, refining, and that is the strip. 1t is til,
; substance which lea, es the sugar in til,
centrifugal. Alter proper manipuia,ioI
IT comes into tanks rich, golden liquid
= the sirup of commerce.