56 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE, 



l>eginners as aids in forming a correct judgment ; but one long practiced in 

 the business seems, intuitively, to recognize the time when the grain will 

 form, and the boiling should cease. 



The liquid sugar may now be "turned off" into vessels to cool and granu- 

 late. If a fine grain is desired, rapid cooling in shallow pans, with fnquent 

 stirring while the crystals are forming, will produce this result. If coarse 

 sharp crystals are preferred, leave it undisturbed, in larger quantities, until 

 the crystal ization is completed. There will be a portion which will not 

 granulate, but will remain as a dark colored molasses filling all the spaces 

 between the crystals of sugar. The quantity of this varies with the season, 

 being greatest near the close ; and varies somewhat in different seasons, owing 

 probably to the varying quality of the sap ; and varies also, owing to the 

 treatment of the sap, and the skill used in the process of manufacture. 



To obtain a dry sugar, after the granulation is completed, throw the whole 

 into a tub or barrel, prepared for the purpose by boring the bottom with 

 several small holes, these holes to be closed until the crystals are well com- 

 pacted together, say one or two weeks ; then remove the plugs and allow the 

 molasses to drain away. The draining will be more perfect, and consequently 

 the sugar of lighter color, if a wet cloth is spread upon the surface of the 

 sugar, and renewed daily until the draining is completed. The moisture from 

 the cloth, gradually settling down into the sugar, dilutes the molasses, ren- 

 dering it more liquid, and of course it passes away more thoroughly. A little 

 of the sugar becomes dissolved and carried away by the descending water, but 

 this is not lost, as it mingles with and becomes a part of a very good molat>se8. 

 The draining should be done in a warm room, for heat also renders the 

 molasses more liquid and the draining more perfect. 



Instead of barrels or tubs with perforated bottoms, inverted pyramidal, or 

 hopper shaped boxes are sometimes used in draining. These boxes may be 

 twelve or fifteen inches square and open at the top, by two inches square and 

 elosed at the bottom, and three feet long ; with a hole at the smaller end for 

 the escape of the molasses ; to be suspended like a hopper. These are better 

 than tubs or barrels, for the reason that the quantity of sugar near the bottom, 

 where the drainage is always imperfect, is comparatively small. 



Thus we have a crude sugar equal in every respect to the corresponding 

 grade of cane sugar; and superior to it in this, that we know it has been 

 prepared under circumstances far more favorable to cleanliness than exists on 

 Southern plantations, where the operators are driven to their tasks, and care 

 only to avoid the dreaded lash. 



It was my intention to offer some suggestions upon the subject of refining, a 

 branch wholly distinct from the manufacture of crude sugar ; but the undue 

 length to which the subject has already extended leads me to forbear. I stop 

 here the more willingly from the fact that the further process of refining adds 

 nothing to the real value of the sugar, but rather the reverse ; for by it weight, 

 and the peculiar maple flavor are, in a measure, sacrificed for an improvement 

 in color. 



Mr. Lee, for committee on fifth topic — the culture of flax as a 

 substitute for cotton — presented the following report : 



In considering this subject, we must remember that the circumstances and 

 condition of the country must guide us in leading our judgment to see what 

 is to be our condition in the future, and to provide for it, — how in any given 

 direction we can enrich ourselves by labor, and scatter blessings with a liberal 

 hand to the multitude around us. 



The enormous advance in the price of cotton and wool for the past few 

 months, has no doubt awakened in all our minds an inquiry for some article 

 that shall answer as a substitute for cotton. It is not impossible that the 

 culture of flax may be adequate to supply its place. In looking back a few 



