58 TlMEHRI. 
frame which holds it as to permit of a great many sharp- 
enings before it is worn out. 
I ought to mention that there is another system of cutting 
up the cane for diffusion, originating with a firm in 
Hamburg, who cut the cane into lengths of a few inches, 
and then split these up longitudinally. Most of you 
have probably seen a specimen of cane cut up by these 
means. No doubt this method saves the knives, but 
whether diffusion will take place as rapidly as with 
transverse or diagonal slices, in which the cells and not 
merely the walls of the vessels are laid open, remains to 
be seen. Still whatever means of cutting be adopted, 
there can be no serious difficulty about this part of the 
process. 
Next let us consider the dilution of the juice. It may 
be unnecessary to explain to many of those present, 
that the treatment of the cane slices by water does 
not necessarily produce a very dilute juice ; but know- 
ing the very general misconception that exists on the 
point, and that the proceedings of this Society are 
read with interest by many besides its members, I may 
be pardoned for giving an elementary explanation of 
what diffusion really does. 
Of course if the juice of the cane were extracted, 
with water added to it, it would of necessity be diluted ; 
like the juice from the second mill in Russell's maceration 
system. But diffusion does not extract the juice from 
the cane, or other body to be diffused : it produces an 
artificial juice, consisting of the sugar and other soluble 
matter of the cane, dissolved in water, which must bd 
supplied from some other source ; the water of the cane 
remaining in, and passing away with, the slices. The 
