Maech 18, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



265 



melting points and rotations reported in the lit- 

 erature. The speoifie rotation was determined in 

 water solution for the yellow-green mercury line 

 and we find 



[q,]^ = - 0.255. 



Preservation of bagasse in sugar cane mill con- 

 trol: Guilford L. Spencer. Formaldehyde has 

 been generally used in preserving sub-samples of 

 cane bagasse in preparing a composite sample, rep- 

 resentative of several hours grinding. This has 

 been ascertained to be only moderately efficient 

 under modern milling conditions. The late M. 

 Henri Pellet, in Egypt, suggested and used am- 

 monia in protecting the samples. The author 

 found this usually effieient but occasionally there 

 is loss of sugar. This suggested the addition of 

 chloroform and preservation of the bagasse in an 

 atmosphere of ammonia and chloroform. This 

 mixture is apparently very efBcient. Eefinery 

 press-caJce holSs its polarization during several 

 weeks in the presence of this preservative. The 

 solution for polarization must be acidulated with 

 acetic acid before clarification with lead sub- 

 acetate. 



Glass vacuum pan for laboratory use: M. J. 



PfiOPriTT. 



Changes in the polarising constants of sugars 

 during refining: A. F. Blake. The Clerget suc- 

 rose value for sugars, as pointed out by Browne 

 at the Cleveland meeting, normally exceeds the 

 polarization by about one third the percentage of 

 invert. This is true of raw sugars as shown by 

 numerous analyses, but in the products of a re- 

 finery, soft sugars and syrup, the value of the 

 ratio (S-P)/I is very low. Analyses of sugars at 

 all intermediary stages of refining are given, in 

 order to determine where the change takes place. 

 It is concluded that some change takes place dur- 

 ing defecation and filtration of low test material 

 and in the handling of the muds and scums due to 

 action of lime on the invert sugar, but that by all 

 means the principal cause of the reduction of the 

 value of this ratio is bone-black filtration. The 

 factor is strongly negative for the first material 

 coming off the boneiblaok, but increases in follow- 

 ing portions until in the last portion it is about 

 equal or slightly exceeds material going on. The 

 average value of the factor for all material going 

 on is much higher than the average coming off. 

 Since boneblack absorbs invert from first mate- 

 rial and gives it up to later material it is supposed 

 that by selective action it might absorb more 



levulose than dextrose. This is proved by tests on 

 invert sugar. Another cause is the molecular re- 

 arrangement of dextrose and levulose into glutose, 

 etc. A high value of the ratio in refined products 

 indicates inversion during refining. Losses of 

 sucrose figured upon Clerget values exceed those 

 figured on polarization, while losses of organic 

 material are much less. 



A report on the sugar industry of France sin^e 

 the war: T. H. Mtjkpht. The French sugar in- 

 dustry, born of the Napoleonic wars, almost per- 

 ished in the World "War, being 66 per cent, de- 

 stroyed. Formerly, the 213 sugar factories sup- 

 plied all French consumption and 78,739 tons per 

 year for export. Now the 60 small factories re- 

 maining can supply only a small portion of the 

 nation's requirements, and about 400,000 tons per 

 year are imported. One hundred and forty-two 

 factories were 85 per cent, destroyed, and all 

 copper coils, bronze tubing, copper and brass 

 screens, in fact everything made of copper, bronze 

 or brass, and all electrical equipment, was stripped 

 out of the war-wrecked factories and taken to 

 Germany. The plants where sugar machinery and 

 equipment was made, suffered the same fate. The 

 damage to sugar factories was over $89,000,000. 

 Reconstruction in France has made enormous 

 strides, but on account of the highly specialized 

 machinery and equipment required, the sugar in- 

 dustry, has, as yet, been able to accomplish very 

 little. Photographs of destroyed sugar factories 

 shown. 



The composition and preparation of a sugar 

 syrup of maximum solubility: R. F. J'ackson and 

 C. L. GiLLls. One of the large branches of the 

 sugar industry is the manufacture of syrups for 

 direct consumption. If the syrup consists only of 

 sucrose, the saturated solution may contain only 

 38.7 per cent, of the sugar. Such a solution is too 

 thin for a desirable product and is susceptible to 

 fermentation. If concentrated to a denser con- 

 sistency, it becomes supersaturated and deposits 

 sugar crystals. If, however, the sucrose is par- 

 tially inverted, the density may be considerably 

 increased, but if the inversion is carried too far, 

 the relatively low solubility of dextrose limits the 

 density to which the syrup may be concentrated. 

 A study was made of the mutual solulbilities of the 

 three constituent sugars, namely, sucrose, dextrose 

 and levulose in the presence of each other. The 

 solubility of sucrose in varying proportions of in- 

 vert sugar was determined to very high concentra- 

 tions of the latter. Similarly the solubility of su- 



