86 STORING THE CANE. 
by cool winds and cloudy skies. In freezing, the delicate 
cell-walls of the plant are ruptured by the expansion of 
the fluids which they inclose, and the saccharine and nitro- 
genous principles become intermingled if a thaw suddenly 
sets in. But if a freeze is succeeded by a gradually in- 
creasing temperature prolonged through a period of two 
or three days, the cane remains comparatively uninjured. 
The ruptures of the cellular organs gradually close up, and 
catalysis is prevented. We may easily correct the inju- 
rious effects of sudden extremes of temperature by storing 
the canes, after cutting, in a proper manner; but in the 
field these changes cannot be controlled, and therefore it 
is indispensable that the crop be taken off the ground and 
placed under shelter as soon as ripe. 
As already indicated, the whole process of sugar pro- 
duction may be conveniently divided into three successive 
periods. ‘The first of these embraces the period of culti- 
vation and ends with the harvesting and storing of the 
cane. The sugar-house or factory, however humble, con- 
sists essentially of three parts or divisions, correspondent 
to those periods, and successively used, viz.: 1. A store- 
house or repository for the cane. 2. A mill-house and 
evaporating-room. 3. The sugar-house proper or curing 
and crystallizing-rooms. 
The business of sugar production from sorghum will 
not be successfully conducted, and will not assume its true 
rank as a great national industrial pursuit until convenient 
and substantial buildings are made to take the place of the 
mere sheds commonly used only to protect the workmen 
from the elements. Especially when the work is on a scale 
of considerable magnitude, ample provision should always 
be made for carrying it forward in each department inde- 
pendently, and in a perfect and thorough manner. Neat- 
ness and adherence to system should rule throughout the 
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