266 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



August 21, 1909. 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Seventh International Congress of 

 Applied Chemistry. 

 The Seventh International Congress of Applied 

 Chemistry was held in London from May 27 to June 2, 

 1909. It included sections dealing with practically 

 every aspect of 

 the application 

 of chemistry to 

 industry, but of 

 the subjects 

 discussed, those 

 dealing with 

 the chemistry 

 of sugar and 

 sugar produc- 

 tion will be of 

 more particu'ar 

 interest to 

 dwellers in the 

 West Indies. 



The questions 

 dealt with under 

 this head were 

 many and varied. 

 Among them was 

 that of the use 

 of temperature 

 corrections, in 

 the polarization 

 of raw sugars 

 and other pro ■ 

 ducts, upon 

 quartz wedge sac- 

 charinieters. This 



•question has been 'i'"K I'lRs^T seu-dlino 



discussed at some length at one time and another in the 

 West Indian Bidlidin (papers on the Polarimetric Deter- 

 mination of Sucrose, Vols. VI, VIT, VIII, and IX). In 

 a jiaper having the above title. Dr. C. A. Browne, Director of 

 the Sugar Lal^oratory of the Bureau of Chemistry, United 

 States Department of Agriculture, discusses certain points in 

 relation to the siibject, and maintains that, with certain raw 

 sugars and molasses, the application of a correction for the 

 inHucnce of temperature on the specific rotation of sucrose 

 and on the quartz wedge of the .sacchari meter is unnecessary, 

 .since in low grade products it is more than counterbalanced 

 by the opposite etfec't on the specific rotation of invert sugar 

 contained in tlicm. 



!Mr. L. i\. iiosulcy dealt with the I'equirements of the 

 confectionery and preserving industries in respect of sugar 

 and glucose i)rf)ducts intended for use therein. In this case, 

 tlie ability of sugars to retain their colour on heating, and 

 the crystallizing power, appear to be the most essential 

 features, and a number of tests are suggested for judging 

 sugar required for these jjurposes. 



^Ir. Lewis Hynon adduced some results of experiments 

 in connexion with the influence of clarification with basic 

 lead acetate solution on the valuatir)n of sugar products, 

 tending to confirm the views of Prinsen Cecrligs and others 

 that, while basic lead acetate is incapable of precipitating 

 levulose from pure solutions of invert sugar, nevertheles.s, 



when precipitabli; non-sugar compounds are present, removal 

 of levulose from solution can, and does, take place on clarifi- 

 cation with this reagent. Incidentally, the accuracy of the 

 Clerget process for the determination of sucrose is brought 

 out. 



Messrs. Ling and Maclaren brought forward some results 

 of analyses of cane-sugar and molasses, wherein the sucrose 

 was determined both by the copper-reducing power and by 



the Clerget in- 

 version process. 

 Otlier subjects 

 included papers, 

 by Mr. H. [Main 

 and .Mr. D. L. 

 D a V e 1 1, jr., 

 respectively, on 

 the estimation 

 of ash in sugar.s 

 and syrups by 

 the determina- 

 tion of the elec- 

 trical conduc- 

 tivity, and on 

 the analysis of 

 bagasse ; in the 

 latter, compari- 

 sons are made 

 of the alcoholic 

 and aqueous ex- 

 r I action methods 

 I ' ir the determi- 

 nation of sugar 

 lud fibre, Avith 

 t he object of 

 g.iining infonra- 

 tion as to which 

 ^__ is the better one. 



CANES I.N ltAKB.\J>OS. 



The First Seedling Canes in Barbados. 



The photograph which is reproduced on this page 

 has been received from Sir Daniel Morris, K.C.M.G. 

 The following note in connexion with it is kindly sup- 

 plied by Mr. .1. U. Bovull, I.S.O:— 



The photograph was taken by Mr. It. V. Shcrring, F.L.S., 

 in 1890, and gives an illustration of the firstseedling canes 

 that were raised in Barbados. These comprised the twenty- 

 three varieties mentioned below, which were selected for 

 cultivation from sixty-nine self-sown seedlings that had been 

 found in 18S8 near a field in which variety experiments 

 were beins; conducted. Their names were as follows : — 



^lorris .Jemmotte 



Professor Harrison Edwards 



Burke Parria 



Callender AVilt.shire 



Clarke Fawcett 



President .lennian 



Sheiilierd AVatts 



Governor I'obin.son Connell 



Governor Lees 



Murray 



Hutson 



Hart 



\'earwood 



i'liillips 



Armstrong 



Since then, other seedlings have been grown which have 

 given better results than this l>atch, consecjuently all but one 

 liave been discarded. This variety, the liarke, is now 

 cultivated to a small extent on one or two estates in the 

 island, wliere it is found suitable. 



