SUGAR. 



SUGAR. 



throw three rows into one, thus forming wind- 

 rows across the field, taking care to place 

 Ihe foliage of one stool of cane over the butts of 

 the previous one, and laying them to the height 

 of 3 or 4 feet, like a thatched roof. In this way 

 the cane can be kept several weeks for grind- 

 ing and pressing. " Mattressing" the cane for 

 a limited period, even after the frost, so far 

 from injuring its product, will, he says, in- 

 crease it in Florida. " As long as the demand 

 for cotton will give 20 cents, or even 15 cents 

 per pound, it is undoubtedly a more profitable 

 article of culture, and sufficiently so to annihi- 

 late any other substitute ; and even at 10 cents 

 per pound, it is unquestionably a more -expe- 

 dient entire crop than sugar; and no prudent 

 man will, under any circumstances, in my 

 opinion, here attempt a sole sugar crop; its 

 results will be, nine times in ten, complete ruin. 

 I advocate only sugar in combination with cot- 

 Ion." In his estimate of the comparative pro- 

 fits of cotton and sugar, both rated at 10 cents 

 per pound, he computes the product of an acre 

 of cotton at 1000 pounds, and an acre of cane 

 at only 1000 gallons of juice, equal to 500 

 pounds of sugar. In Louisiana, about 1000 

 pounds of sugar per acre is considered an 

 average yield ; in the West Indies from 3000 

 to 6000 pounds." 



At present the cane crop of sugar in the 

 United States is almost exclusively confined to 

 Louisiana. The capital employed in its cul- 

 ture in 1842 has been estimated at about 

 152,000,000. In 1840 the sugar crop of Louisi- 

 ana was reported in the census returns at 

 1 19,947,720 pounds. In 1842 the crop was esti- 

 mated at 130,000,000 pounds, being the greatest 

 erer before known. The annual average for 

 several years is represented to exceed 80,000,000 

 pounds, with an addition of 4,000,000 gallons 

 of molasses. 



Whilst the crop of cane sugar is increasing 

 annually at the South, that from the maple is 

 becoming greater in the Northern and Western 

 States. The amount of sugar made in 1840, 

 from both sources, has been reported at 

 155,100,809 pounds. In Michigan alone, there 

 is said to be no less than 30,000 acres abound- 

 ing with the maple. These trees have been 

 estimated at an average as worth to the farmer, 

 for the purpose of sugar-making alone, from 2 

 lo 3 dollars each. The proportion of sugar- 

 maples per acre in the sugar districts has been 

 computed at 30. See MAPLE. 



Under the head of MAIZE reference is made 

 to the proposed manufacture of sugar from In 

 dian corn, one acre of which, of luxuriant 

 growth, has been estimated to produce from 600 

 to 1000 pounds and more of good sugar. The 

 manufacture of sugar from the beet, so exten- 

 sively carried on in France, Germany, and 

 other European countries, has never been suc- 

 cessfully introduced into the United States 

 To succeed fully, the manufacture must be 

 carried on upon a large scale, with ample capi- 

 tal. Many excellent essays upon the subjec 

 may be found either separate or published in 

 yarious agricultural periodicals. 



Chemical composition of Sugar. The progress 

 of modern chemistry in ascertaining the pre- 

 cise elements of various substances, has de- 



veloped some highly interesting facts relative 

 o sugar, showing the very slight difference 

 between its composition and that of many other 

 matters to which it apparently bears not the 

 east resemblance, such as starch, saw-dust, or 

 common woody fibre, linen rags, &c., which by 

 slight additions have been actually converted 

 nto sugar. By some chemists, and particu- 

 arly Prout, starch is considered as sugar 

 jartly organized, containing but a small quan- 

 ity of carbon and hydrogen more than sugar, 

 the excess however being sufficient to prevent 

 crystallization or conversion by nature into 

 sugar. The following table, prepared from the 

 statements of Berzelius, Raspail, and Dumas, 

 jy Dr. Prout, shows in a curious and interest- 

 ng light, by what mere shades of difference iu 

 heir constituent atoms, substances, which to 

 he sense appear as far apart as the zenith from 

 he nadir, are separated. Water is composed 

 of definite and well-ascertained proportions of 

 oxygen and hydrogen, and in the formation of 

 sugar, starch, acetic acid, and lignin, or the 

 pure woody fibre of trees and plants, these two 

 materials are found united in the same propor- 

 tions as in water; the only ingredient added 

 for their completion being carbon. These sub- 

 stances, sugar, acetic acid, starch, and lignin, 

 may therefore be considered as composed of 

 carbon and water in the proportions here given. 



Cwbon. Wler. 

 Suvar. 100 parts of sugar from starch 



contain .... 3fi-20 fi3 80 



From honey - 36 36 63 64 



From East India moist - - 4088 5919 



From hftet- root and maple - 4210 57*90 



From English refined - - 42 05 58 05 



From sugar candy, pure - 42-85 57*15 



Acetic Acid ...... 47-05 52'95 



Stare*. Arrow root in its ordinary 



state - - - - - 36-04 6304 



From wheat in its ordinary 



state .--- 37 50 6250 



From wheat dried 212 - - 42-80 57-20 



Lignin. In its ordinary state of dryness 42-70 57'30 



From willow dried 212 - 49-80 50-20 



From box do. - - 50 00 50 00 



Dr. Prout, in his Bridgewater Treatise, re- 

 marks, " that both starch and wood can by dif- 

 ferent artificial processes Be converted into 

 sugar or vinegar. But we are unable to re- 

 verse the process, and convert vinegar into 

 sugar, or starch into wood." The chemist Bra- 

 connet has ascertained that a pound of linen 

 rags yields rather more than a pound of sugar. 



Mr. Guthrie of Sackett's Harbour, in his 

 attempts to make sugar from potatoes, pro- 

 duced large quantities of molasses, but with all 

 his skill was unable to crystallize or grain it, 

 without the introduction of some deleterious 

 substance, lead, for instance ; and consequently 

 all his was used in a liquid form, of the con- 

 sistence of thick syrup, or rather honey. The 

 potatoes were first converted into starch, and 

 then, by boiling in sulphuric acid, diluted, for 

 some hours, into sugar. The directions in the 

 Encyclopedia Americana for this process are, 

 2000 parts of starch, 8000 parts of water, and 40 

 parts strong sulphuric acid the mixture to 

 boil some 36 hours in silver or lead; but Mr. 

 Guthrie accomplishes the conversion by the 

 use of steam in about 6 hours. The produc- 

 tion of sugar or molasses is possible from a 

 great variety of materials provided by nature, 

 such as the cane, maple, beet honey all plants 



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