36 SUGAR 



reducing sugar or invert sugar used for growing 

 purposes, while a ripe cane contains sucrose with a very 

 small admixture of invert sugars. When the lower 

 leaves die the sucrose is increased only from the action 

 of the leaves which remain at the top, and the time 

 comes when there is no further increase. That is the 

 point of ripeness. After that the heat of the sun has 

 no further creative effect, but would, if the cane were 

 not cut, begin, with the help of the acids in the cane, 

 to convert sucrose into invert sugar. 



The contents of the cane juice as it flows from the 

 mill can be stated roughly, but of course it varies 

 greatly according to the quality of the cane, and that 

 is very various in different countries and soils. The 

 variation also arises from the state of ripeness of the 

 cane. Here are figures of the analysis of cane juice 

 which has rather more uncrystallizable sugar than it 

 ought to have if it were perfectly ripe, but they suffice 

 to indicate the proportions of the various constituents 

 of the juice. They also illustrate the impurity of the 

 juice from the second mill as compared with that from 

 the first. They are taken from Prinsen Geerligs' 

 smaller work on cane sugar, published at the office of 

 The Sugar Cane, Altrincham, 1902. 



Sucrose, 16'49 per cent.; glucose, 1'98 ; ash, 0'28; 

 gums, 0-125; albumen, 0*025 ; free acid, 0*048. The 

 density by the Brix hydrometer was 19- 2. This hydro- 

 meter professes to indicate the total quantity of dry 

 substance in solution. The quantity of sucrose, per cent, 

 of total dry substance, is, therefore, 85*9. This is 

 called " the quotient of purity." This is the analysis 

 of the juice as it flowed from the first mill. That of 

 the juice, without maceration, as it flowed from the 

 second mill gave the following changes. About the 

 same sucrose. Rather less glucose. Ash increased to 



