The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1903-05-13
SUGAR.
The g ''s Grand B March Of the Sugar Cane.


.S9ia; ~ - ~ eASts 1C DO W tu3t AgU0,
OF Iweetjuice is procured from bee
and also from canes. Strabo,s in hi
| geography and The great physician
Dioscorides, slso, in his book on lied
ical lore, make mention Of grass tha,
is evidently our sugar cane. strab,
says il ia . reed that produces honey
Dioscorides tells more than that. III
says thst the reeds OF Arabia ard Tn
dia yield q CONCEALED thick honey a,
hard as salt which crumbles between
the teeth and is called sugar. Belor
says thatthis plant is mentioned in Z
numbsr ,of Indian and Arabic books
and that the Chinese understood it's
Eoniture FROM the most remote ages
and also the art Of extracting its pro,
ducts. Humbolt confirms this state,
ment by attestiDg that the plant /.
found drawn upon the Oldest Chinese
porcelain. But it was not until near,
" the thirteenth century that the
sugar caGe was introduced into Nubia
and Egypt, from whence, 10 the four.
teenth century, it vas. carried to Sici.
~, Syria and madeira. The original
home Of the sugar cane, It's true birth
place, is1shroudsd in mystery. This
much only is known with certainty.
that il was first cultivated in that
part Of the world extending from
Cochin China to Bengal and was
brought from India to the ..south Of
Europe by the crusade during the fif.
teenth and sixteenth centuries. Va
rious classical writer's Of our first era
notice the sweet sap Of fthe Indian
reed and the granulated, salt-like pro-
duct which was imported from India
under the name of sacoharum lfrom
aanskr, gravel, sugar. and much used
in medicine.
Although the art Of boiling the Juice
or the cane was, as we have seen.
known in Indie and China in the earl.
iiest ages. nothing was then known Of
the art of sugar refining. The Chi
;nese did not learn the use of. ashes for
this purpose until the Mongol period,
when some savant from Egypt taught
them the art. The cultivation OF the
Sweet reed spread from Arabia into
Persia and here sugar was prepared
With att about the. time Of the Arab
conquest and Ice manufacture on 4
large scale was one Of the principal
industries Of that region. "a tribute
Of 30. 900 pounds ves paid the sultan,
Q. fact that attests the great estimation.
ia which sugar; vas ehen, held. The
art Of SUGAR fefininez ia hsl:e ssa 50. : sS i,
have been developed BY the Famous
physicians Of Arabia, In whose limited
pharmacopela sugar occupied an i'm
portant place. !.
During whAs might be called the
.age of discovery thes Spaniards
played an important part ia scatter
iag far and wide the cane that has
nov; become one Of the worlds great
!estsstaples. It was they who carried
it to Madeira in 1870 and to San Do
5mingo in 1494 Fros., thence early in
the sixteenth century it was spread all
5overgihe conquered portions Of the.
SWest Indies and South America.
During the first twenty years Of this
century the sugar trade Of San Do.
mingo grew with Swondrous sapidity.
Fron sshe import tax lssiea /: j, s.: = sa San
Domingo sugar BY Charles W OF spain
he obtained funds sufficient FOR the
erection d. two splendid palaces, q
l2ast that gives aome idea Of the mag
nitud e OF thia trade even ia those ear
~ days. :.
nice became the great center Of
the sugar trade during tho middle
ages, and it was here that the art OF
making LOST ,sug gar: was discovered by. 8
Venetian merchant who received 4 Re-.
ward Of 100. 900 crowns for his inven-
tion. Q earliest reference to com
mercial sugar in Great Britain Is the
mention Of the importation of 100 ,0G0
pounds sentto London by d Venetian
merchant ii 1919, this amount being
exchanged for q like value id wool.
During this aame year the accounts of
the court chamberlain Of Scotland
sshoW a pay ymsnt Of 4 shilling q
pence per pound for sugar. Nor did
sugar cease Sto be ot thsr than q very
ieostly luxury aud an article in com
mon use 10 nc elinina only until the
increasing use Of ten and coffee in the
eighteenth century forced it, az. ii
were, into the list osf food staples.
The gonderful impulse given to Che
consumpti ion Of sugar by these bexger: