The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-01

And in this use of this substance we
| actually get back in n way the actual
| heat OF the sunbeams by which the cotton
was originally produced in the plant
And Just here we strike one of the most
| lnterestin facts in chemistry, which is
that every source of heat known to us is
| directly derived from the sun, whether it
be in or through the starch or sugar Of
the food we eat, the clothing we wear,
| the wood or coal we burn, or by the COM
| bustion In any way of the carbon of the
| air which is taken into plants under the
| influence OF the sunbeam. We find an
other curious thing, namely, all this heat,
in whatsoever form or manifestation il
may be, is simply a force or mode of mo
ton, or vibration of the atoms of some
matter.
But to return to the experiment. Take
Il quantity of cotton and spread it upon q
small plate, and pour on il little diluted
sulphuric acid. After some time the cot
| ton fbers are seen 10 swell up and partly
dissolve Then if we flow it with a weak
solution Of iodine we see these dissolved
portions of the cotton become of a beauti-
ful intense blue color This is the chem
lists way Of detecting starch, and proves
that the cotton has been in part changed
into starch, But if the cotton fibers or
any other kind of cellulose be boiled for
| some hours in diluted sulphuric acid. IT is
| changed into sugar, first going through
the stage in which it is starch And
starch may be changed by boiling into
sort Of gum or mucilage as an interme-
diatc condition, as in that common
domestic operation Of the laundry, and
this gum or mucilage and the starch ana
the cellulose are all still Of the same
chemical composition This has not been
changed by any Of these processes.
But the celluloSe is changed naturally
t,lrt Il
cherry trees. the gum eXuding from the
bruised bark Of these trees being precisely
the same chemically as the common
gum arabic, which is yielded by a species
of acacia. These gums have the identical
composition of starch, namely twelve
parts Of carbon and ten of water. Then
the addition of one equivalent part of
water changes the cotton fiber by these
gradual processes into cane or common
sugar This. however, is only done In
the plant or tree, We cannot do ii by our
inferior chemistry, which is 80 far sur
passed by that of nature. We can only
change the cellulose into a kind Of sugar,
known as grape or fruit sugar, and TO Or
binary persons in the form of glucose,
which is sold rs syrup
The reason of this is that we cannot
stop at the right point at which the cane
sugar passes into the grape sugar For
we know that by long boiling we can
change common cane sugar into glucose Of
syrup. and this is done by the maker Of
maple sugar, who, by passing the stage
at which the cane sugar in the sap be-
comes granular, the excess of heat will
cause this solid sugar TO combine with
one more equivalent Of water and become
syrup of glucose, which consists of ~
parts of carbon and II Of water, and the
housewife does the same thing when she
makes fruit Jelly.
Then BY very simple experiment we
can bring this sugar back into charcoal or
pure carbon in this way: Take a quantity
of sirup and pour it into a tumbler add
ing 10 IL three or four times its bulk Of