156 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
this means, was preserved during the operation at a tem- 
perature not exceeding 212°. 
Having filled the bath of the still with water, and 
urged the boiling, the spirit soon came over; as before, 
I rejected the foreshot and faints, in this case returning 
the foreshot to the still; the result was about 2 of a pint 
of pure, well flavored spirit, of 724° strength. 
Such results are encouraging and full of promise for 
the future; for it must be remembered the stock in this 
case was imperfectly cured to begin with ; had been kept 
in a demijohn over a year fermenting, and had thus lost 
part of its alcohol before it came into my hands. Yet, 
nevertheless, I will venture to say, that the spirit pro- 
duced from Mr. Peters’ first experiment in sorgho syrup, 
will rank favorably with many samples of spirit in the 
market. 
Having got so far, the only question that remains, is 
the important one of apparatus. Of course, the size must 
be proportionate to the quantity of brandy, low wines or 
alcohol, the planter intends to manufacture; but, as many 
circumstances have got to be considered in arranging a 
distillery, besides the mere size of the still, I would recom- 
mend that the planter, before taking steps in the matter, 
state his case to some competent person and obtain his 
advice. 
To farmers and others, who do not intend to make a 
regular business of distilling, except at times when no 
other occupation occurs, as in winter, | would recom- 
mend to defecate and clarify their juice as directed in the 
chapter on syrup and sugar, using, say two pans, 
when the juice is well cleaned. Then boil down to 35° 
