118 



MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR. 



tion, or imperfect defecation of the liquor. The following 

 is the description of the process on the estate alluded to in 

 Berbice : — " The sugar is granulated at a temperature of 

 175° F. The revolutions of the wheel do not exceed 2*5 

 per minute at any time. Bapid revolutions produce froth, 

 even in well cleared liquor, and it is very difficult and often 

 impossible for even experienced sugar boilers to get rid of 

 it ; it is therefore to be guarded against as much as possible. 

 Having experienced sugar boilers, we do not strike with 

 the saccharometer, but in several trials that I have made, 

 I have found it to be from 43° to 45° Beaume. A degree 

 or two less is of no consequence, but a degree or two more 

 w r ould give too much heat to the syrup, and injure it. 

 The old range of coppers evaporate in the first instance, 

 and the liquor reaches a heat of about 224° F., which will 

 give a density of about 32° Beaume. We have a cistern 

 which contains about 600 gallons, as receiver for the 

 syrup, from the coppers, from which it is let into another 

 cistern below, containing from 60 to 100 gallons. From 

 this it is let into the pan at charges of about 8 to 10 gallons 

 each time, We use no charcoal. We get as large a 

 crystal as the vacuum pan, and we attribute it to the low 

 temperature at which it is concentrated. It is, I believe, 

 generally admitted, that too much caloric is detrimental to 

 the aggregation of crystals. When the syrup (sugar) 

 comes from the pan, it is run into a heater, heated by 

 steam, where it is allowed to remain about 20 minutes ; 

 and when it is heated to 180° F., it is filled into cones 



