SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 99 
THE CLAYING PROCESS, 
On some estates only a portion of the sugar is made 
into Muscovado, which is the process I have been de- 
scribing. Tio make “clayed” sugar requires a little dif- 
ferent treatment; it is a follows: 
Conical moulds, of tin, zine, or sheet iron, with an aper- 
ture at the small end, are provided—for large estates to 
the extent of many thousands. These are set on the 
floor of the purging house, on perforated boards, which 
receive the small end and keep them upright. The aper- 
ture at the bottom, which is three quarters of an inch to 
one inch wide, is stopped either with a piece of wood pre- 
pared for the purpose, or, as is often done, a joint of cane 
is used asa plug. The sugar, being boiled a little stiffer 
than if intended for the cooler, is first put into a wooden 
box running on wheels, rather deep and long, in which 
it is agitated with a short oar for some time, until it has 
cooled somewhat, and crystals have begun to form. It 
is then jilled into the moulds, the box being wheeled 
alongside of them. These moulds contain from eighty to 
one hundred and twenty pounds of hot sugar. In a day 
or two, when the sugar master considers that the con- 
tents of the moulds are well crystallized, the plugs are 
removed, and the molasses soon begins to separate from 
the crystals and run out. The operator to hasten this, 
however, and, as it were, to wash the crystals as clean as 
possible, gets some good porous clay, mixes it well into 
a thin, creamy paste with water, and pours it over the 
top of the sugar in the mould. ‘Tne clay remains on the 
top of the sugar, while it allows the water to percolate 
