28 Sorghum Hand Book 



SUGAR MAKING. 



Whilst there has been more or less sugar made from sorghum almost 

 from its first introduction, and some operators have made a good article and 

 in considerable quantity, cane growers, in general, have been unsuccessful 

 in their efforts at sugar making. The difficulties and uncertamties attending 

 the business, are mainly caused by the impurities peculiar to sorghum, 

 which are difficult of separation, and whose presence prevent crystallization. 



The following remarks concerning Sugar Making were prepared origin- 

 ally for "our Sugar Hand Book, and relate specially to the tropical (ribbon) 

 cane, but will apply equally well to sorghum. 



The process of sugar making requires that the sugar existing in the cane 

 shall be extracted and converted into solid bodies, leaving impurities behind. 

 Experience has demonstrated that the more rapidly this is done the better 

 the results. Immediately after the juice comes from the mill the sugar must 

 be freed from its surrounding impurities. Its quality will depend on the 

 rapidity and skill with which this is done. 



Cane juice, on account of the acids and perishable feculent matter it con- 

 tains, begins to deteriorate the moment it is exposed to the air, and the 

 tendency of this is to destroy crystallization and to convert true cane sugar 

 into grape sugar or glucose. Care must therefore be taken not to hold the 

 juice in reservoirs, but to carry it at once from the mill to the boiling appa- 

 ratus. 



The first requisite of real and, in fact, vital importance in the treatment 

 of the juice as it leaves the mill is, 



DEFECATION, 



that is, the separation and cleansing from impurities held in it. Unless this 

 is promptly secured, failure is certain. The rough stuff can be disposed of 

 mechanically by some such device as strainer wire, or coarse cloth, or straw 

 filter, but the acids and other impiirities held in solution can be freed only 

 by chemical action and heat. 



In sugar countries, after vainly seeking a better method of neutralizing 

 the acids, the most intelligent sugar makers have settled down to the use of 

 lime alone. The application of lime requires care and judgment. It must be 

 pure and fresh, not used in its caustic state, but slacked frequently during the 

 day, being reduced to the consistency of milk of lime. The exact quantity 

 to be used depends entirely on the amount of acid in the juice, and must be 

 determined by an experienced eye, or tests with litmus paper. 



The judicious use of lime and heat in the early stages of defecation 

 embraces the most difficult points in sugar making, and demands the greatest 

 skill and attention. Lime and heat are the chief agents in defecation, but 



