BET 



artificial heat, taking care to prevent their bcin^r fmoaked 

 or burnt. If an opport'.itiity does not occur for flicino- the 

 roots iinmediatcly after bcuifr taken out of the earth, they 

 fhould be placed in cellars, and covrred with ftravv, or put 

 into holes jir dry fandy earth, and preferved till tliey are 

 wanted. 



M. Achard fays, that after the roots are wadied and 

 cleaned, they Ihould be (llccd by means of a machine, or 

 ground in a fort of mill, confuting of a cvlinder firnilhed 

 with points, like a rafp, which turns round in a box. The 

 roots are put in this box, and prefled, by means of a weight, 

 againfl the cylinder, which, upon being turned round, foon 

 reduces them to a kind of pulp. When the beet- roots arc 

 dry, they are ready for the extraftion of their fugar. For this 

 purpofe, three wooden tub-, wide, but not deep, made of 

 oak, a(h, or willow, fhonld be provided, or, for funily ufe, 

 earthen mugs. Near the bottom of the tubs, cocks or fpig- 

 goti fliould be fixed, and the tubs fliould be placed in a 

 cool fituation of about 52° of I'alirenhcit, upon a ftiilage 

 near each other, and at fuch a height from the ground, that 

 inialler veffels may itand below them for iceeiving tlie 

 liquor when drawn off, and clear water {hould be at hand 

 io as to be pumped into the higher veffels. When the beet- 

 roots, thoroughly dried, have been fiftcd, fo as to be free 

 from the dull and loofe fibres, one of the hiuher tubs Hiould 

 be half filled with them, and clear cold water poured upon 

 them, about one-third in heigiit above the roots. In this 

 ilate they ihould remain for about three hours, llirring them 

 at different times with a wooden paddle. At the end of 

 this time, the fame number of clean dri.d roots (hould be 

 put into the fecond tub ; and the fweet liquor drawn from 

 the firll tub into the veffel under it, (hould be poured upon 

 the roots in the fecond ; and the (irll tub fliould be lupplied 

 v'fh frefh water hi fuch quantity as jull to cover the roots, 

 a:id the ti>bs ihould remain three houis more, and the roots 

 be repeatedly llirred, as before. The liquor wliieh had 

 been poured from the full tub to the fecond, will be now much 

 abfovbed by the roots in the latter tub. After (landing 

 again for three hours, the fweet liqour from the fecond tub 

 mud be drawn off, which, if the roots were of the red and 

 white fort, will be of an agreeable red colour. It mUil 

 then be paffed through a fieve, or filtered through a flanne!, 

 and thus be rendered fit for boiling down for fugar. After 

 th'S, draw the liquor from the firll tub, pour it on the fe- 

 cond, and put into the firll tub more fre(h water, and let it 

 ftjnd three hours longer. Then put into the third tub the 

 ufual q'.iantity of ch-y roots, and pour on them the liquor 

 drawn from t!ie fecond tub ; remove the liquor from the 

 firll to the fecond ; and the roots in the firll tub being now 

 deprived of their faccharine matter, may be ufed for feeding 

 hogs or cattle. After three hours more, the liquor (hould 

 be drawn from the third tub and filtered as before, and 

 then boiled down for fugar. Then draw off the liquor of 

 the fecond veffel, and pour it into the third ; add frefli water 

 to the fecond vcffel, and let it remain three hours more, the 

 roots being oceafionally llirred. During this time, cleaiiie 

 out the firfl tub, and add frefh roots, as before. After 

 three hours, draw the liquor fro:n the third tub, and pour 

 it upon the fielh roots in the firll ; then draw the liquor 

 from the fecond tub, and pour it on the third. The roots of 

 the fecond tub will be now cxhaulled, and may be given to 

 the cattle. After three hours, draw off the liquor from the 

 firll tub, filter it, and it will be ready for boiling down. On 

 the contents of the firft, pour the liquor of the third, and put 

 frefh water ia the third tub ; let it remain three hours, and 

 llirred as ufual ; during which time clean out the fecond 

 tub, and let the roots be given to the cattle. In the ftxoiid 



BET 



tub, place aga!- frefh roots ; and proceed by extrafting the 

 faccharine matter, as before ; and continue the opcratior, 

 till all the dried roots hav'^ been tins freed from their fugar. 

 By this management, the liquor becomes more charged 

 with faccharine rr.atter, than when the ju'cc is preffed out: 

 of the roots, and a confiderable quantity of fuel is fpartd. 

 The roots from which the liquor has been extraifted will 

 have fwelled much in the operation, and have loll their 

 fweetncfs ; their farinaceous refiduum will, however, afford 

 good food for cattle. Whenever there is a lufficient quan- 

 tity of dried roots ready, the procefs of extracting the fac- 

 charine liquor fhould be continued day and night, as it is 

 not proper to let the liquor remain longer than three, or at 

 moft four hours, before you boil it, Ie!l a diffolution of tlie 

 mucilaginous particles of the roots (hould take place. It it 

 be not convenient to boil down all the faccharine hquor ac 

 once to a (late of cryllallization, yet it (hould be daily 

 boiled down to the confillence of a fyriip, in order to pre- 

 vent its fermentation. In boiling the liquor, the fcum that; 

 aiifes fhould be carefully taken off. 



The procefs of boiling, cryftallizing, &c. the beet fugars 

 is as follows. Firll boil the extra6ted faccharine liquors 

 down to the confillence of a fyrup ;■ then put it into a cop- 

 per, of which one-third at leall is empty, and let it boil 

 away by a moderate fire, until a phial, which holds one 

 ounce of water, will contain eleven drams of the fynip, or 

 until the fyrup porirs fomewhat broad from the ladle. The 

 fcum or froth fliotild be taken off as it arifes. When the 

 fyrup is anived at the (late above mentioned, by gentle 

 boiling, the fire mull be removed from underneath the cop- 

 per, and the fvrup gradually run through a clean woollen 

 cloth, placed over a wooden or Hone veffel. The fvrup 

 mud not cool too much before this filtration, or clfe it 

 becomes ropy. When the filtered lyrup is fomewhat cool,, 

 it Ihould be laded into flialk)w wooden or Hone veffels, to 

 cryllalh/e ; for this purpofe, (liallow earthen veffels, fuch 

 as are ufed to produce cream, or veflels made of tin, arc 

 proper. Thefe veffels, filled with fvrup, mull be placed in 

 a room heated to about 68" of Fatiicnheit, and care mull 

 be taken to keep them free from flies and dull. If the 

 fvrup has been of a proper confillence, cryflals will foon be- 

 gin to form at the bottom of the velhls ; and in an interval 

 of 18 or 2 I days the cryflalli/ation will be completed. The 

 mafs muil then be put into a flrong linen fack, wcUfecured, 

 and placed under a prefs, to fquceze out the liquid from the 

 fugar which remains in the bag. The liquid matter may be 

 fet to cryllallize a fecond or third time, and will yield fugar 

 of a coarfcr qualify. A cheefe-prefs, or long lever, will ferve 

 for the purpofe of pre(rure. The fugar firll obtained, may 

 be rendered purer by mixing with it a fmall quantity of clear 

 fpring water, and placing it again under the prefs ; the 

 coloured fyrup will then run out, and leave the fugar in the 

 bag in a much purer ftate than before-. By repeating the 

 operation, it is fo far improved, that, when dritd and rubbed, 

 it becomes a fine white powder fugar. The feparated fyrups 

 Ihould be again carefully boiled, and more fugar will be ob- 

 tained from them by cryflallizatioii. If the fugar procured 

 by the firll preffure be diffolved in as much clear water as 

 will form a fvrup, and placed again in a warm room to cryf- 

 tallize, it will yield a much purer and harder fugar : the 

 ' fyrup may then be feparated without preffure from the fugar, 

 merely by inclining the veffel, and allowing the fyrup to run 

 off from the cryflals. All the fyrups thus prepared, are fit 

 for family ufe, and are much fuptrior in tatle to thofe pre- 

 pared from the preffure of the raw or boiled roots. The 

 remaining tliick fvrups may be ufed as treacle or m.olaffes, 

 and will ferve to diltil forrum or fpirits. From the experitnents 



of 



