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down gelatine, but differing from tannin. I find that other 

 substances throw down gelatine ; for instance, hematine, 

 the peculiar principle of brazil wood, does so, but the 

 precipitate is soluble in hot water. The kadukkdy doubtless 

 contains tannin, and its precipitate is tannate of lime. I 

 tried, as you requested me, the gelatine ; the result was the 

 best sugar I have made, and the quantity also was more 

 satisfactory. A careful quantitative experiment is necessary 

 to determine the relative value of the bark and the chunam 

 toddy. The lime certainly does favour the catalytic change 

 of the sugar into glucose, but probably it would not if 

 thrown down by the tannin before the application of heat. 

 Tannin throws down almost every vegetable proximate 

 principle, and gelatine throws down albumen, so that I 

 think with this we get rid of everything out of the toddy 

 except the sugar, the dextrine, and the salts. There is an 

 innocuous substance which precipitates gum, and probably 

 would dextrine also, but which from want of proper 

 apparatus I am unable to prepare ; it is silicate of potash. 

 The preparation of this compound is very easy and cheap, 

 and if it acts as I think it would, it would leave us just the 

 sugar and the salts." 



I have since tried some juice, substituting the rind of the 

 fruit of the pomegranate for the kadukkdy. It had the same 

 effect exactly, and the result is excellent. The bark of the 

 ironwood tree I believe will also do, and perhaps many 

 other barks and nuts. 



The addition of a true decolorising agent, such as animal 

 charcoal, to the liquor while boiling, effects a wonderful 

 improvement in the colour of the sugar, even in an open pan.. 

 But as that would involve a second and far more tedious 

 filtration, in whichever way it is performed, it may be 

 doubtful whether we shall ever adopt it. However, we can 

 manufacture the animal charcoal here as advantageously as 



