From Soil to Sack 



boiling kills the germs which are 

 present, the evaporation concen- 

 trates the sugar solution and pre- 

 vents further invasion, and the heat 

 coagulates the albuminous constitu- 

 ents of the syrup, forming a froth, 

 which, when removed, has accom- 

 plished much in the process of clar- 

 ification. 



Besides heat, which coagulates 

 the albumen, another agent which 

 has been used for clarification from 

 the earliest times is lime. This pre- 

 cipitates the gummy matters which 

 form into a muddy sediment at the 

 bottom and into a top layer of froth 

 between which the bulk of the juice 

 is clear and limpid. 



Thus we see* that the first step 

 after the juice leaves the mill is to 

 boil it and to add a measured quan- 

 tity of milk of lime, or in plainer 

 English, whitewash. This white- 

 wash, much as we should dislike to 

 [27] 



