CANE JUICE 35 



It does not appear in sound ripe canes, but can be found 

 in unripe or overipe ones. Dextrose exists in both 

 ripe and unripe cane, and is also found in many other 

 plants. But the existence of dextrose and levulose as 

 separate substances is a mere nothing compared with 

 the quantity of them produced by the decomposition 

 of sucrose into " invert sugar." This is the " golden 

 syrup " and also the " brewers' sugar " of commerce. 

 If very pure it has the appearance and flavour of honey. 

 Honey itself is invert sugar. 



All these sugars are called " carbo - hydrates " 

 because they consist of carbon combined with hydrogen 

 and oxygen in the proportions in which those two 

 elements exist in water. They are formed by the 

 tissues of the leaves of the sugar cane, under the influence 

 of the light of the sun, combining the water of the 

 plant with the carbonic acid of the atmosphere. The 

 stronger the light the more rapid the process. Sucrose 

 is created and conveyed to the stalk. If the process 

 is too rapid during the daytime starch is stored up, 

 and this in the night season is converted into dextrose. 

 Part of the sucrose may also be inverted and thus a 

 little levulose added to the dextrose. The respiration 

 of the plant requires these " reducing sugars," 

 converting them back to water and carbonic acid. 

 Some of the sugars are conveyed to the green top of the 

 growing plant, and further inversion takes place to 

 assist the vigorous growth by vigorous respiration. 

 The reducing sugar also assists in the formation of the 

 fibre of the cane, and some of it combines with nitro- 

 genous substances to form albuminous matter. As 

 the plant ripens and the leaves begin to fall the vigorous 

 respiration slackens, less reducing sugar is required, 

 and the sucrose is stored up in the cells of the pith of 

 the cane. A growing cane, therefore, contains much 



