116 



never granulates properly, and is apt to deliquesce : where, 

 on the contrary, the proportion is too large, as gluten is 

 soluble in the alkalies, the fecula is re-dissolved, and the 

 colour of the produce suffers accordingly.* 



Many employ the salts of soda and potass, (generally the 

 sulphate.) The sugar obtained by the former is of light 

 grain; that by the latter, small but hard. Some prefer 

 a composition of equal parts of lime, sulphate of potass, and 

 sulphate of alumina, the sugar obtained by it being of hard 

 grain. There are other salts which might be employed, 

 were it not that the taste of the sugar would suffer, — such as 

 the muriate of ammonia, the muriate of potass, nitre, mag- 

 nesia, as well as the infusion of nutgalls. I may mention in 

 conclusion, that by many the liquor previous to being heated 

 undergoes the process of tempering. This method goes by 

 the name of cold tempering. 



As for the alkaline substances employed in the process, it 

 is deposited with the scum, or runs off with the molasses, as 

 none can be detected in the crystallized sugar on analysis. 



Might not the saccharometer be used with advantage in this case? 



