191 



3rd. The sulphurous acid remaining in the syrup is of 

 value in tending to prevent or check fermentation, since this 

 substance possesses marked anti-fermentive properties. 



The milk of lime is of advantage in partially neutralizing 

 the excess of sulphurous acid and in precipitating albumi- 

 nous matters and other organic impurities, which would 

 otherwise be difficult of separation. 



As previously stated, a great objection to the methods of 

 syrup making in common use is that no attempt is made to 

 thoroughly clarify or defecate the juice, and further that 

 the syrup is boiled too thick a consistency, thus facilitating 

 the crystallization of the sugar contained. Where sulphur 

 fumes have been employed, any excess of free sulphurous 

 acid remaining in the juice will aid in the conversion of the 

 cane sugar into uncrystallizable sugars, and the same re- 

 sult can be attained by the employment of other acids such 

 as acetic and muriatic, though their use for this purpose is 

 not to be strongly recommended. 



If, instead of removing the upper green joints of cane 

 preparatory to griading, the whole stalk is passed through 

 the mill, it will be found that the syrup obtained will have 

 much less tendency to deposit sugar, than where the former 

 plan is adopted, although the product is more susceptible 

 to fermentation and quite likely to be darker in color. 



The experiments conducted during the season of 1894,. 

 were performed with the aid of an ordinary shallow copper 

 evaporator, together with the sulphuring apparatus previ- 

 • ously described, and the results secured were quite satis- 

 factory in almost every particular. 



The syrup obtained was much brighter and clearer than 

 the syrups made during the same season without the use of 

 clarifying agents, and portions of this syrup, preserved for 

 almost six months in open vessels, gave no perceptible sign 

 of fermentation at the end of that period, and there was. 

 only a partial deposition of the sugar contained. 



