396 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



•TUNE 1«, 1S34. 



From the Southern Agriculturist. 

 PREPARATION OP BEET SUGAR. 



Paris, December, 1S33. 

 The beets are collected when ripe, or a little 

 before that time, and immediately brought to the 

 cleaning machine. This consists of a cylinder 

 composed of ribs of wood, and revolving in a 

 trough filled with water ; into this cylinder the 

 beets with their tops, as torn from the ground are 

 put, and thoroughly washed ; one objection to cut- 

 ting on' the tops before washing, is that a quan- 

 tity of saccharine matter escapes. They are then 

 brought to the rasping machine, which breaks 

 down their cellules and reduces them to fine pulp. 

 In some places the beets are brought dried to the 

 manufactory. They should then be cut in trans- 

 verse slices, and dried in a stove heated somewhat 

 below the temperature of boiling water, that being 

 sufficient to destroy the principle of organic life 

 in the beet, and which militates against the action 

 of affinity present in all inorganic substances. The 

 temperature should be below 112 deg. Fahr. as it 

 appears that at that point the coloring matter is 

 formed readily, either from a reaction taking place 

 between the principles contained in the beet, or 

 during the maceration, from the water used in that 

 process. For the same reasons the time and de- 

 gree of heat used in maceration, should not exceed 

 that requisite to extract the saccharine matter. 



The quantity of fibrous matter contained in the 

 beet is so small, in proportion to the liquid, and 

 the cellules containing the latter, are so minute, 

 that it requires a most complete rasping to prepare 

 them for the press. The presses most esteemed 

 are those which press but a small quantity at a 

 time, and that with expedition ; as by these means 

 most juice is obtained from the pulp. They are 

 of two kinds, the screw and the hydraulic ; but 

 the limits of this paper will not permit me to give 

 you a description of either ; sullice it to say, that 

 the pulp, having been placed in strong closely 

 woven cloth, is submitted to these presses, and the 

 juice flows immediately into cauldrons (coppers), 

 in which it undergoes the process of defecation. 

 From good beets Dombasle obtains 85 per cent, of 

 juice ; from poor and indifferent 60 per cent, is 

 usually got. From boiling them and then cutting 

 thein in slices, over which a current of water 

 flows successively, he has obtained 90 percent.; 

 CO lbs. of juice of good white beets yield from 4^ 

 lbs. to 5 lbs. of raw sugar; thoso grown in rich 

 wet soils give less. 



The juice thus, or otherwise obtained, is subject 

 to a spontaneous alteration, which is important to 

 know. If exposed to the atmosphere, it gradually 

 acquires a stringy and oil-like consistence, which, 

 increasing in proportion to the evaporation of the 

 liquid, at last resembles that of the while of an 

 egg. These changes take place in less than twen- 

 ty four hours, when the temperature is at 20 deg. 

 to 24 deg. centigrade*. The mass which before 

 this change never showed any free acid, now con- 

 tains both acetic and nahceique acids, (the latter de- 

 scribed by Braconnot in 1S13 — Annates de Cliimie.) 

 It is supposed that this alteration takes place in the 

 beet itself when kept in too large heaps, and thus 

 subjected to too high a temperature. It is the for- 

 mation of this viscous matter which presents a 

 great obstacle to the crystallization of sugar, and 

 which glueing together the crystals prevents the 

 molasses escaping. To guard against this altera- 

 tion of the juice, the utensils used in keeping and 

 in stirring the beet juice should be kept scrupu- 



lously clean, and the greatest celerity possible 

 should be used in all the necessary operations, 

 from the grinding to the defecation. The instru- 

 ments of wood must be frequently washed with 

 the greatest care, and when laid aside, should be 

 covered with milk of lime, and which should not 

 be removed before their immediate use is required. 

 One of the best means to prevent this alteration in' 

 the beet juice, is to employ small coppers, capable 

 of containing about two hectolitres (two hundred 

 English quarts) each ; five of this size are capable 

 to serve for the fabrication of 30,000 lbs. of beet 

 juice per diem. Although the heat maybe applied 

 to a large copper, long before it is filled from the 

 juice flowing from the presses, too much time 

 passes before it is full, and arises at the tempera- 

 ture of 70 deg. or 80 deg. centigrades, at which 

 temperature the juice may be considered safe from 

 the alteration above mentioned. 



I will not dwell on the modus operandi of the 

 substances used in the defecation of the juice, but 

 proceed, at once, to state the process most gener- 

 ally adopted. The quantity of lime varies from 

 2J to 3i "grammes" for each "litre" (quart) of the 

 juice. As a general rule, the quantity must be in- 

 creased in proportion to the quantity of saccharine 

 matter contained in the juice. The purest lime 

 should be used, and in its greatest degree of caus- 

 ticity, and it should be reduced into a clear pap 

 by means of a little water before put into the cop- 

 pers. It is best to put it in the copper as soon as 

 a few bncketfuls of juice Iras flowed in, it acting 

 in preventing the decomposition already so much 

 insisted on, which is apt to take place to a more 

 or less great degree before the juice arrives at the 

 requisite degree of temperature. 



Two methods are now used to complete the 

 operation. One consists in preventing the boiling 

 of the juice, by extinguishing the fire before it ar- 

 rives at 100 deg. temperature, and then being left 

 at rest for half an hour, when the scum rises to 

 the surface, the liquid is afterwards drawn oft' by 

 a cock placed near the bottom of the copper. 



The method preferred by Dombasle, is to con- 

 tinue the fire under the copper, and, when near 

 the boiling point, watch the first bubble which 

 swells under the scum ; immediately take a ladle- 

 ful of the juice from the spot where it arises, and 

 pour on the spot a quart of cold juice which 

 checks the action immediately ; the same opera- 

 tions must be repeated as often as a bubble appears 

 (which must never be permitted to burst and spread 

 over the scum), until, by examining the liquor 

 taken up in the ladle, the defecation is found com- 

 plete, when the fire must be extinguished, and the 

 liquor allowed to rest for a half hour before drawn 

 off; always guarding the bubbles, which may con- 

 tinue to rise, from bursting by the means already 

 indicated. By this method the operator is render- 

 ed complete master of the work, and in those 

 cases in which sufficient lime has not been used, 

 he can have time to add more when he finds that 

 complete defecation will not take place. For this 

 purpose he has only to dilute a quantity of the 

 milk of lime in the cold juice, which he pours 

 into the copper. Even the introduction of the 

 cold liquid alone sometimes produces a remarka- 

 ble effect ; a single quart changing the state of 

 the liquor and causing the separation of the feces 

 in large flakes. The complete defecation is known 

 by the liquid in the ladle being of a fine white 

 wine color, and perfectly transparent, and that the 

 feces are divided into large flakes which settle 



quickly to the bottom of the ladle. The liquor 

 having been drawn oft', the scum and residue are 

 I hen placed in cloths extended over a table com- 

 posed of wooden ribs, and having an elevated 

 border ; below this is placed an inclined plane 

 which conveys the juice into a reservoir contain- 

 ing the rest of the clarified juice. The cloths 

 should be of cotton in preference to wool, which 

 the lime, still retained by the feces, is apt to rot. 



Now, place the juice thus defecated into cop- 

 pers destined to concentrate it. The form of the 

 different coppers is not an unimportant object. 

 Those used in defecation should be deep, viz. 

 the depth half their diameter; and when bul- 

 lock's blood is employed in defecation, they should 

 be as deep as wide. The coppers for concentra- 

 tration should be as wide as one foot in depth to 

 four or five feet in diameter, those for cooking 

 differ from these last only in having their bottoms 

 three " lignes" in thickness at least. The combus- 

 tible matter is pit-coal or wood, and the furnaces 

 must be adapted to each. Animal charcoal is 

 ufit-d in the concentration ; that made from bones 

 and not horns is employed. Its action is not con- 

 fined to removing the color, but it acts also in an 

 inexplicable maimer, enabling the syrup to support 

 a higher degree of temperature ; and without it, it 

 is almost impossible to cook the syrup on an open 

 fire, which process will now be described. 



Place the clarified juice into the concentrating 

 coppers, and saturate the excess of lime, if it exist, 

 by diluted sulphuric acid ; it should not be render- 

 ed completely neuter, only so far that the purple 

 (tournesol) paper changes slowly blue. Then pour 

 in the animal charcoal in the proportion of 1^ lbs. 

 to a " quintal" (100 lbs. weight) of the liquor. Boi! 

 and continue the concentration until the hot liquor 

 supports (parte) 20 deg. a Vareomcter de Baume. 

 It is then withdrawn and left to deposit in deep 

 wooden vessels and kept in a cool place, where it 

 precipitates during cooling, a great quantity of cal- 

 careous salts, among which the malates are most 

 abundant. When the syrup is perfectly clear, (at 

 the end of twenty-four hours usually) it may be 

 submitted to the action of cooking (cuite.) 



Being placed in the cooking coppers, carry it, 

 by a brisk fire to 32 deg. of areometre of Baume. 

 Extinguish the fire, and throw in animal charcoal, 

 in the proportion of ^lb. to a quintal of the juice 

 which has furnished the syrup, viz. half the quan- 

 tity employed the first time. Let the syrup now 

 cool to about 75 deg. stirring it occasionally to mix 

 the charcoal well with it ; then carry it into the 

 clarifying coppers, and submit it to the usual clari- 

 fication of bullock's blood ; it is then drawn off 

 clear and the cooking proceeded with. The scum, 

 &e. is placed on woollen cloths to drip. The pro- 

 ceeding is considered the most difficult part of the 

 process. The cooking coppers now receive it, 

 and the point of concentration is told by touching 

 the ladle dipt in the syrup and drawing out the 

 thread. The thumb being below, when the finger 

 is drawn from it, the thread should break at the 

 thumb. The thermometers used for this purpose 

 are rejected by W. Dombasle, as not to be relied 

 on. When of the proper consistency, it is poured 

 out into the " rafraichissoir," where it crystallizes. 



The method recommended by Payer, is to evap- 

 orate the defecated juice to twelve degrees of 

 Beaume, without adding any animal charcoal ; 

 then draw off all the liquid into a filter filled with 

 animal charcoal ; evaporate rapidly the filtered 

 liquid to twenty-five degrees of Beaume, and filter 



