64 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 



machinery, expressing 70 per cent., we have a 

 yield of 670 gallons per acre. I examined care- 

 fully the specimens of syrup boiled under the eye 

 of Mr. Peters, and also by myself. Several of 

 these specimens were of a superior quality, all 

 of them surpassing my expectations, in view of 

 the crude manner in which they were made. 

 There is present in all of them, to a greater or 

 less degree (owing to differences in manipulation), 

 a peculiar flavor, reminding one of the maple- 

 sugar, which is very grateful to the palate, and 

 gives it a decided preference over the article 

 which we get under the name of New Orleans 

 syrup. This, so far as I know, has been the uni- 

 form judgment of all who have tasted it. These 

 syrups give a precipitate of foreign matters with 

 the basic acetate of lead (a delicate test), little, 

 if at all, greater in amount than the New Orleans 

 syrup. The precise nature of these precipitates 

 remains to be ascertained and compared. The 

 syrups vary considerably in density : those from 

 the Chinese cane ranging from 1.298 to 1.335, 

 while that of the New Orleans sample was 1.321. 

 This variation in the density is an evil which 

 should be corrected, to produce a good market- 

 able syrup, which shall keep well. Samples of 

 the Chinese cane syrup have been valued by the 



