400 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



said to answer an excellent purpose, a very small quantity 

 only being required.- Its application in clarifying wines has 

 been suggested, although it is not stated whether it is exact- 

 ly suitable. To prepare this substance, finely powdered and 

 purified animal charcoal is to be mixed to a stiff dough with 

 white of egg, and torn apart into small pieces, dusted with 

 the charcoal, dried, and pulverized, and again kneaded with 

 egg albumen to a dough, which is to be dried and powdered 

 anew. 6 C, August 10, xxxn., 318. 



EXTRACTING JUICE FROM SUGAR-CANE, ETC. 



A new method of extracting juice from sugar-cane, beet- 

 root, etc., by the process of diffusion, has been announced in 

 the foreign journals. For this purpose the cane, or other 

 original substance from which the juice is to be extracted, is 

 to be first cut in slices by a special machine, and then placed 

 in a series of closed water-tight tanks, and brought in contact 

 with water at an elevated temperature in a certain succession 

 and systematic order. Another method consists in carrying 

 out the whole process of diffusion in a single vessel, in which 

 the extraction of the sugar is carried on continuously by in- 

 troducing slices of cane through a feeding apparatus at the 

 bottom of the vessel, from which they rise slowly to the top, 

 while fresh water is "constantly running in at the top of the 

 diffusing vessel, and is drawn off at the bottom as diffusion 

 juice, after having remained in contact with the slices for a 

 certain length of time. The liquid during the operation is 

 agitated by machinery. It is suggested that this process may 

 be applied "on a small scale in domestic operations in making 

 such drinks as lemonade, etc. 17 A, June 1, 92. 



DIFFUSIVE PROCESS IN MAKING SUGAR. 



When sugar-cane is crushed for the extraction of its juice, 

 it is well known that a large portion of the juice is taken up 

 by the fibre, and that the amount saved is much less than 

 that which actually exists in the plant. To remedy this de- 

 fect, the method called the diffusive process, which has been 

 so successful in the treatment: of the sugar beet, has lately 

 been adopted with very satisfactory results. This consists 

 simply in dissolving out the saccharine matter with water, 

 and then concentrating the juice in the proper manner. In a 



