130 



in parcels of six or seven arrobas, by waggons, from Santa Fe to 

 Jugui, and tlience by mules to Potosi, La Paz, and into Peru 

 proper. About four piastres per arroba is the price in Paraguay, 

 and at Potosi it fetches from eight to nine, and more in proportion 

 as it is carried further." 



SUGA1L 



STJGAE is obtained from many grasses ; and, indeed, is common in 

 a large number of plants. It is procured in Italy from Sorghum 

 saccJiaratum ; in China, from Saccliarum sinense ; in Brazil, from 

 Gynerium saccharoidts ; in the West Indies, from saccliarum 

 violaceum ; and in many other parts of the world from >S officinarum. 

 The last two are commonly known as sugar canes, and they are 

 generally considered as varieties of a single species, S. officinarum, 

 which is now widely spread over different parts of the w r orld. 



Some curious specimens of palm sugars were exhibited at the 

 Great Exhibition of 1851, among others, gomuti palm sugar 

 (Arenga saccliarifera) from Java; date palm sugar, from the Deccan ; 

 nipa sugar, from the stems of Nipa fruticans. and sugar from the 

 fleshy flowers of Bassia latifolia, an East Indian tree. 



Among the other sugars shown were beet root sugar, maple 

 sugar, date sugar, from Dacca, sugar from the butter tree (Bassia 

 lutyracea), produced in the division of Bohekkund, in India; and 

 sugar candy, crystallized by the natives of Calcutta and other 

 parts of India. 



Sugar and molasses from the grape, were also shown from Spain, 

 Tunis and the Zollverein. 



Sugar, or sugar candy, has been made in China from very remote 

 antiquity, and large quantities have been exported from India, in 

 all ages, whence it is most probable that it found its way to Eomc. 

 The principal impurities to be sought for in cane sugar are in- 

 organic matter, water, molasses, farina, and grape, or starch sugar. 

 The latter substance is occasionally, for adulterating purposes, 

 added in Europe to cane sugar; it may be detected by the 

 action of concentrated sulphuric acid and of a solution of caustic 

 potassa; the former blackens cane sugar, but does not affect the 

 starch sugar, while potassa darkens the color of starch sugar, but 

 does not alter that of cane sugar. But the copper test is far more 

 delicate. Add to the solution to be tested, a few drops of blue 

 vitriol, and then a quantity of potassa solution, and apply heat ; if 

 the cane sugar is pure, the liquor will remain blue, while, if it be 

 adulterated with starch sugar, it will assume a reddish yellow color. 

 Inorganic matter is determined by incineration, farina by the 

 iodine test, water by drying at 210 deg., and molasses by getting 

 rid of it by re-crystalization from alcohol, UH also by the color and 

 moisture of the article. 



The natural impurities of sugar are gum and tannin ; gum is 

 detected by giving a white precipitate with diacotate of lead, and 



