208 HORTUS JAMAICENSIS. sugar 



It is known to he sufficiently heated when the scum hegins to rise in blisters, which 

 break into white froth, and appear generally in about forty minutes. The fire is theiv 

 suddenly extinguished by means of a damper, which excludes the external air, and the 

 liquor is allowed to remain about an hour undisturbed, during which period the impu- 

 rities are collected in scum on the surface. The juice is then drained off, either by a 

 syphon or a cock ; the scum, being of a tenacious or gummy nature, does not flow out 

 with the liquor, but remains behind in the clarifier. The liquid juice is conveyed from 

 the clarifier by a gutter into the evaporating boiler, commonly termed the grand cop- 

 per, and, if it has been obtained from good canes, it generally appears transparent. 



In the evaporating boiler, which should be large enough to receive the contents of 

 the clarifier, the liquor is allowed to boil ; and, as the scum rises, it is taken off. The 

 scumming and evaporation are continued till the liquor becomes finer and thicker, and 

 so far diminishe I in bulk that it may be easily contained in the second copper. When 

 put into the second copper, it is nearly the colour of Madeira wine ; the boiling and 

 scumming are continued, and, if the impurities be considerable, a quantity of lime- 

 water is added. This process is carried on till the liquor be sufficiently diminished in 

 quantity to be contained in the third copper. After being purified a third time, it is 

 put into the fourth copper, which is called the t-ache, where it is boiled and evapor- 

 ated till it is judged sufficiently pure to be removed from the fire ; of which there are 

 various methods of judging. 



The juice being thus purified is poured into coolers, usually six in number. The 

 removal from the teache to the cooler is called striking. The cooler is a shallow wooden 

 vessel, seven feet long, from five to six wide, about eleven inches deep, and capable 

 of containing a hogshead of sugar. As the liquor cools, the sugar grains, that is, col- 

 lects into an irregular mass of imperfect chrystals, separating itself from the melasses. 

 It is then removed from the cooler, and conveyed to the curing house, where the me- 

 lasses drain from it. For receiving them there is a large cist< rn, the sloping sides of 

 which arc lined with boards. Directly above the cistern a frame of joist woik without 

 boarding is placed, on which empty hogsheads without heads are ranged. The bot- 

 toms of these hogsheads arc pierced with eight or ten holes, in each of which the stalk 

 of a plantain leaf is fixed so as to project six or eight inches below the joists, and rise a 

 little above the top of the hogshead. The hogsheads being filled with the contents of 

 the cooler, consisting of sugar and melasses, the melasses being liquid drain through 

 the spungy stalk, and drop into the cistern. After the melasses are drained off, the 

 sugar becomes pretty dry and fair, and is then called muscovado or raw sugar. 



From the melasses, scummings of the hot cane-juice, or sometimes raw cane-liquor, 

 lees, or as it is called in Jamaica, dunder, (which answers' the purpose of yeast in tne 

 fermentation ol flower), rum is made. 



The process is as follows, when the ingredients are mixed in the following propor- 

 tions ; according to Mr. Edwards : 



Dunder one half, or 50 gallons. 



( Melasses c 



Sweets, \2percetlt. < Scumming, being equal to six gallons more of 



V. melasses 36 



Water 8 



100 



Of 



