418 GRAPE CULTURE AND WINE-MAKING. 



The process constituting my said invention may briefly thus 

 be stated : I take the stalks of the said plants, and obtain the juice 

 contained in them by any ordinary and well-known method. This 

 raw saccharine juice I then treat with lime, or cream of lime, un- 

 til it has lost all trace of acidity, and even becomes sujEhciently al- 

 kaline to aSect, in a slight degree, turmeric paper, or other equally 

 sensitive test paper, when I at once remove the said j uice into a 

 suitable filtering or other apparatus for separating the feculencies 

 or coagulated matters from the juice, so as to obtain a clear bright 

 liquor or juice, without having subjected it to any heat whatever. 

 This clear bright juice or liquor I then put into a suitable vessel, 

 and apply heat until the temperature rises from 120 to 180 de- 

 grees Fahrenheit, when I treat it with a dilute infusion of pow- 

 dered nut-galls, or other substance containing tannin, neutralizing 

 any excess of tannin that may have been accidentally given, or 

 any acid which may have become liberated, by the addition of a 

 little lime, cream of lime, or lime in any other suitable combina- 

 tion ; I then urge the heat until the liquor has arrived at the boil- 

 ing point, at which it should be kept for a few moments, when the 

 heat is withdrawn, and the liquor is again filtered and rendered 

 clear. 



This clear defecated liquor is next evaporated, and, if in open 

 pans, the scum is taken off as it rises, and the evaporation is con- 

 tinued, either in open pans or in any low temjjerature apparatus, 

 until the liquor is sufficiently concentrated to permit of its granu- 

 lation or crystallization taking effect in proper receptacles, into 

 which it is placed for that purpose. If it should so happen that 

 the said concentrated juice exhibits a disinclination to granulate 

 or form crystals, then the addition of a few ounces of well-grained 

 dry sugar may be had recourse to, which will immediately cause 

 a granulation of the concentrated sirup. It must be well under- 

 stood that I make use of charcoal once^ tiuice^ or thrice^ in the filtra- 

 tion and decolorization of the juice and sirup; or, on the other 

 hand, I do not use it at all, just as I may see fit and expedient. 

 When the new sugar is properly granulated, its molasses is sejDar- 

 ated from it by the usual methods now employed. 



It must be distinctly understood that the mere idea of cold fil- 

 tration is not unknown, because numerous attempts have from 

 time to time been made to filter the raw juice of the sugar-cane 

 before applying heat thereto, and small quantities of lime have 

 been put into the said raw juice before filtration, in order to pre- 

 vent the acidification and fermentation of the juice during filtra- 

 tion, and before it could reach the boilers and be boiled ; but my 

 distinct and well-proved method is that of adding lime, or cream 

 of lime, to the raw juice until it loses all traces of acidity, and it 

 becomes sufficiently alkaline to affect slightly the color of turmeric 

 paper, or other equally sensitive alkaline test paper. The chem- 

 ical principle involved in this process I will now explain, so as to 



