28  Development  of  the  Sugar  Industry.  |A 
m.  Jour.  Pharm. 
January.  1915. 
the  work  of  the  crystallizers  by  ascertaining  that  the  final  molasses 
has  been  reduced  to  the  lowest  possible  sucrose  content ;  and  finally 
to  control  the  quality  of  the  raw  sugar  as  to  polarization,  moisture, 
alkalinity,  acidity,  or  any  other  factors  which  may  affect  the  price 
or  keeping  quality  of  the  product.  Xight  and  day,  holidays  and 
Sundays,  the  sugar  factory  chemists  must  be  at  their  posts,  for 
when  the  sugar  campaign  begins  there  is  no  let-up  until  the  grinding 
season  is  finished.  The  moment  a  wrong  turn  occurs  at  any  stage 
of  the  process,  the  fact  must  be  quickly  noted,  lest  large  financial 
losses  result. 
The  chemistry  of  sugar  production  has  one  other  important  side, 
which,  unfortunately,  is  too  much  neglected.  I  refer  to  the  chemical 
processes  which  take  place  where  the  cane  is  growing.  We  must 
never  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  sugar  which  we  eat  is  made 
in  the  field  and  not  in  the  factory.  If  we  determine  all  the  factors 
that  enter  into  the  cost  of  sugar  making,  we  shall  find  that  about 
three-fourths  of  the  expense  is  due  to  the  agricultural  operations 
of  ploughing,  planting,  cultivating,  and  harvesting,  and  about  one- 
fourth  to  the  operations  inside  the  factory.  Strictly  speaking,  then, 
the  agricultural  side  of  sugar  making  should  receive  three-fourths 
of  the  attention  bestowed  by  chemists  and  trained  scientists.  This 
has  been  largely  true  of  the  beet-sugar  industry,  a  great  part  of  the 
success  of  this  branch  of  sugar  making  being  due  to  the  care  given 
to  chemical  selection  of  seed  and  to  other  agricultural  matters.  The 
day  is  fast  approaching  when  it  will  be  equally  true  for  the  sugar- 
cane industry. 
Unfortunately  there  still  exists  in  some  quarters  a  sort  of  con- 
tempt for  that  branch  of  chemistry  which  occupies  itself  with  soils, 
fertilizers,  tillage,  irrigation,  and  the  varied  phenomena  of  plant 
life.  This  is  a  most  narrow,  mistaken  point  of  view ;  the  problems 
of  agriculture  are,  in  fact,  the  most  important  and  most  interesting 
in  the  whole  field  of  applied  chemistry,  and  the  truly  great  chemists, 
such  as  Liebig  and  Humphry  Davy,  have  recognized  this.  I  predict 
that  the  opportunities  of  the  chemist  in  the  future  will  be  found  upon 
the  agricultural  side  of  sugar  making,  and  that  the  ultimate  goal 
in  that  field  will  be  far  more  remunerative. 
