Chap. 5/j Mufcmado Sugar. 4$ 



'continually taken off, till the liquor becomes finer, fome - 

 what thicker, and almoft of the colour of Madeira 

 wine Being transferred to a fmaller copper, the boil- 

 ing and fcumming are continued.; and if the liquor 

 is not fo clear as might be expected, lime-water is ad* 

 ded, which thins the mixture, fo as to fuffer the im- 

 purities to rife more' readily to the furface. When, in 

 confequence of fuch fcumming and evaporation, the li- 

 quor is fo reduced that it can be contained in the third 

 copper, it is laded into it, and fo on to the laft copper, 

 "which is called the teache. This arrangement fuppofes 

 four coppers, befides the three clarifiers. 



In the teache the liquor undergoes another evapo- 

 ration, till it is fuppofed to be boiled enough to be re- 

 moved from the fire. 



The cooler (of which there are generally fix) is a 

 fhallow wooden veflel, about eleven inches deep, feven 

 feet in length, and from five to fix feet wide. A cooler 

 of this kind holds a hogmead of fugar. Here the fu- 

 gar grains, that is, as it cools it runs into a coarfe irre- 

 gular mafs of imperfect cryftals, feparating itfelf from 

 the melafles. From the cooler it is taken to the cur- 

 ing-hp'ufe, where the melaffes drains from it. When 

 it is cooled fo that the finger may be plunged into it 

 without injury, it is poured into barrels, placed over 

 certain cifterns, and pierced at the bottom with many 

 holes, imperfectly (lopped with the ftalk of a plantain 

 leaf, through which the fyrup drains. In the fpace of 

 three weeks the fugar becomes tolerably dry and fair. 

 It is then faid to be cured, and the procefs is finifhed. 

 The fugar thus obtained is called mufcovado, and is the 

 raw material whence the Britifh Tugar-bakers chiefly 

 make their loaf or refined lump. The juice of the 

 fugar- cane contains a fuperabundance of acid, which 

 prevents the dry concretion, In order to get rid of 



this, 



