142 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION. 
“ the wholesome state of emulation among the planters.” 
So much for the Bisulphite and the wholesome state of 
emulation among the Demerara sugar manufacturers ; if 
anything like the same feeling exist here, it must surely be 
gratifying to know, that as a rule the cane juice of Trini- 
dad is less complex than that of Demerara, consequently 
more easily turned into sugar. The results therefore ought 
to be as good, if not better, and attained at less expense. 
This, however, is by no means the case at present, for rea- 
sons that require better explanation, and it would be desir- 
able that the example of the sister colonists should be fol- 
lowed, as far as circumstances permit, in defecating cane 
juice, as long at least, as it is esteemed a first principle in 
the manufacture of sugar, that the cane should be crushed 
into atoms and its heterogeneous elements well mingled 
with the air as the first step towards obtaining the saccha- 
rine contents in their purity. 
When mentioning the Bisulphite of Soda in connexion 
with its use by Dr. Scoffern in Choleraic Diarrhoea, it 
should have been further stated on the same authority, 
that one tea-spoonful of a saturated solution of this Salt 
added to one gallon of milk, preserved the whole mixture 
unchanged and sweet for ten days during the heats of July 
in London. This fact should have its practical value in the 
West Indies where so much of the comfort of life as well 
as health itself depends on the daily supply of milk and 
other easily decomposable articles of diet. In 1862 the use 
of the Bisulphite of Lime was patented in its application to 
prevent the acetification of such fluids as porter, ale, &c. 
The complete success of this step should have led, one 
would think, to our planters observing the same precau- 
tion with molasses, the fermentation of which on public 
