SECT. II. SUGAR. 389 



to boil. The scum which gathers on the top during 

 the process of boiling is carefully cleared away; 

 and when the juice has been boiled down to the 

 consistence of a sirup, it is drawn off and allowed 

 to cool in vessels which are placed above a cistern, 

 and perforated with small holes, through which the 

 impure and liquid part, known by the name of 

 molasses, escapes ; while the remaining part is con- Molasses, 

 verted into a mass of small and hard granules of a 

 brownish or whitish colour known by the designa- 

 tion of raw sugar, which when imported into Raw 

 Europe is further purified by an additional process, 

 and converted by filtration or crystallization into 

 what is called loaf sugar, or refined sugar, or candied 

 sugar. 



Sugar thus obtained has a sweet and luscious 

 taste, but is without smell. When pure its colour 

 is white ; and when crystallized it is somewhat 

 transparent. It is not altered by exposure to the 

 atmosphere, but rt absorbs a degree of humidity if 

 the air is moist, It is exceedingly soluble in water, 

 and particularly in boiling water, which will dis- 

 solve a quantity of sugar that is even more than its 

 own weight. It is soluble also in alcohol and in 

 the acids, which are likewise capable of decomposing 

 it when concentrated. According to Dr. Thomson its 

 specific caloric is 1'086, its specific gravity 1*4045 ; 

 and its constituent elements are oxygene, carbon, Radical 

 and hydrogene, in the following proportions: eementi. 



