THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 57 



syrup becomes more concentrated, to avoid the 

 danger of scorching, which injures the color and 

 flavor. Should more dirty-green scam rise to 

 the surface after the first skimming, it should 

 likewise be removed. 



" In regard to the precise degree of concentra- 

 tion to which the syrup should be brought, it is 

 exceedingly difficult to lay down any precise and 

 simple rule, which shall meet every case. The 

 plan for determining it in use on the sugar plan- 

 tations, and which was adopted by Gov. Ham- 

 mond and Mr. Peters, is based upon the judg- 

 ment of the eye in respect to the consistence of 

 the syrup when poured from the ladle and cooled 

 as it drops from its edge. This test is evidently 

 very defective, since the temperature of the at- 

 mosphere regulates the consistence which the 

 syrup must assume on cooling down ; so that a 

 syrup boiled on a cold day will necessarily be 

 thin and watery ^s the weather moderates, and 

 a syrup finished at night will differ materially 

 from that of the noonday. Although a good ap- 

 proximation, it is not exact enough for the tyro 

 to secure a desirable uniformity in the consist- 

 ence and value of the product, or to obviate the 

 danger of fermentation and loss. To remedy 

 this uncertainty, and secure a uniform result at 



