degrees of density, from 103 to 108 (5 to 12 Baumi), according as it was obtained from the foot of the cane or the upper part of it.

Sugar exists in its crystallizable state in the higher knots of the cane, that is to say, at the earliest period of vegetation, precisely as it does in the lower knots which are of several years growth. It appears very evident, in our opinion, that the crystallizable sugar is not a secondary product, but, in reality, a primitive product, from the secret elaboration, to the state of crystallizable sugar, to the moment of the formation of the vessels in which it is enclosed. It appears even certain-we shall attempt likewise to prove it that it exists in the state of crystallizable sugar from the moment of the blossoming and fructification of the cane. *

The ideas which we have now detailed, on the absence of liquid sugar in the sugar cane, have for their basis the following experiments:

Pieces of sugar cane, cut into very thin slices, were dried, some in vacuo, and others in a dry air, at a temperature of 61° centigrades-in fifteen minutes a complete dessication took place without altering the sugar. These dried slices were then pulverized; the cane now remains, very little hygrometric. From the powder of cane, de

These facts seem to us to establish a very decided limit between the formation in vegetables of the sugar of cane (crystallizable) and the formation of the sugar of raisins; in fact, we never find sugar in fruits at their birth, and we see it produced during the act of maturation; there is then a very decided difference between the natural formation of the sugar of canes, and that of sugar of raisins; those parts of plants which contain the first have, from their infancy, as the cane and the beet, a sweet flavour evidently sacharine The parts of plants which contain the second have in their birth or infancy, a harsh bitter flavour, with no traces of sugar.

The microscopic examination of the sugar cane, has shewn us that this beautiful cellular arrangement, undergoes no change in its organization during any period of its vegetation; the nascent cane like that more advanced in age, presents the same tubes, the same groups of ligneus fibre; and we may truly say, that the anatomical organization of the cane is as beautiful and as simple as it is possible to conceive of. M. Fremy has observed on the contrary, that the disposition of the cellules change from day to day in the aridufluous fruits, in proportion as they approach the period of maturation, that the partitions, at first thick and opaque, terminate by becoming much swelled, transparent, and at last burst, to set at liberty the acid liquid which they contain.

We believe then that we may safely say, that the sugar of the cane is always a primitive production; whilst the sugar of raisins is always a secondary product. These facts are amply sufficient to explain how it is that the sugar of raisins is artificially formed with such great facility, whilst we have not been able to the present day to make the sugar of cane of whole pieces.

8

rived from the lower extremity of the plant, after having been treated with cold alchol, at 959, which dissolved it, was produced of a deliquescent matter, either isolated from the matter, the residue was a deliquiescent substance, soluble in water, neither sucreous nor saline, and which left no ashes after incineration. To this treatment by cold alcohol, repeated three times, succeeded several experiments with boiling alcohol. After its reaction on the powder of the cane, the alcohol, by a slow cooling, left deposited some crystals of sugar, perfectly white and transparent; the liquid on its evaporation afterwards gave no trace of crystallizable sugar.

The same experiments were repeated with powdered cane taken from the summit of the cane; treated with cold alcohol, it gave out no liquid sugar, but a dissolution of a quantity of deliquescent matter sensibly the same as that obtained by the treatment of lower part; with boiling

This experiment which we regard as decisive, because it enabled us to exhaust the cane of its sugar, and to obtain it afterwards in small white crystals, has been applied to more than ten different specimens, taken from all parts of the sugar cane. If these experiments which we have just described, on the dried sugar cane, have not given us in any instance the least trace of liquid sugar (molasses) it has not been the same when we have treated the fresh sugar cane or its juice with alcohol.

In 100 grammes of the juice of the cane of a density of 108 (12° Baumi) produced by expression, we have poured 50 grammes of alcohol at 95°, which gave out a floculent precipitate, which was separated by the aid of a very fine filter. The alcoholic sucreus liquid was placed under a large pan containing quick lime, at the end of 15 days all the water and a great part of the alcohol had disappeared, the sugar had disposed itself on the sides of the capsule, in whitish nipple like forms hard and brittle, it weighed 16gr. 8. The remaining alcohol, decanted and evaporated, left 2gr. 2. of a sucreous, saline, deliquiescent matter; ether isolated from it a very small quantity of wax; the rest, very soluble in water, obstinately refused to crystallize, or to give out to any menstrum, the sugar which it retained. alcohol no other matter was obtained but crystallizable sugar. By the direct treatment of fresh canes with alcohol, the evaporation in vacuo, of the burnt juice of the cane have given us the same result: crystallization has never been

complete, there always remained a residual sugary saline matter, the weight of which corresponded with the quantity of soluble salts contained in the canes which we analyzed.

We believe then that we may safely assert, first-That there is no uncrystalizable sugar pre-existing in the sugar cane. Secondly-That the salts react on the crystallizable sugar, in such a manner as produce molasses, that their action does not take place during vegetation; but depends much upon the manipulations; it cannot be otherwise, since in the vital act of vegetation, the different materials are elaborated in a complete independence of each other.

But what are we to think of the non-sacreous deliquiescent matter which was obtained from the dried cane by alchohol at 95°?

We are induced to believe that in the great work of vegetation, it has power to perform an important part in the production of the moloss, that is to say, that if it does not combine with the sugar, it naturally tends to augment the viscosity of the syrups, and to aglutinize the crystals in the latter crystallizations in the parent stem.

This matter is colourless when it has been obtained by evaporation in vacuo, or at a low temperature; it is coloured by heat: its aqueous solution presents these two distinct characters, of being precipitated by tanner's bark, and of being absorbed by pure animal carbon in such a manner that it cannot be lifted up again by cold water. We have seen farther, that the burnt juice of the sugar cane certainly proves the alcoholic fermentation; that it passes, with much greater facility, the viscuous fermentation, whilst that the alcoholic fermentation is always developed in the juice of the cane passed through animal black, which never follows the viscous fermentation. We have found this matter small in quantity in canes in our possession, but it cannot exist in a greater proportion. The canes called folles, are improper to furnish crystallizible sugar; such are the canes grown on new land, which take a much greater development. For the remainder we have no need to have recourse to hypothesis, in order to comprehend why it is that the juices of the cane are nearly uncrystallizable.

These canes have grown up on virgin lands, on those lands of which the trees which covered them have been

• We have already indicated that the c: aes which wo u ed in our experiments contained a much more considerauie quantity of salts than the colonial canes of which we have made the analysis.

destroyed by the action of fire; a part of the soluble salts, in such great abundance in their fertile soils, have been carried along into the cane, exert in a more matured state of the cane, with a fatal influence, their chemical action on the crystallizable sugar.*

The sugar juices always contain quantities more or less great of salts, and we know that sea salt combined with the sugar of the cane, gives birth to a delequiescent composition, which contains six parts of sugar for one part of sea salt, and which remains in the parent juice in the state of uncrystallizable sugar. But the chloride of sodium is not the only salt which can combine with sugar, and exercise a deleterious influence on the process of crystallization; we have observed that a great number of salts are often opposed to the crytallization of a baking syrup. The haloid salts may be placed in the first rank, the carbonates of potash and of soda react even on sugar at the baking temperature, and render the syrups high coloured and almost uncrystallizable.

The parent juices of the sugar cane, and the sugar beet, can yield molasses then, without these plants necessarily containing them during vegetation.

Let us remark, however, that a liquid never crystallizes without leaving a residue representing a solution at its point of saturation, and we will explain how M. Avequin obtained so much molasses, that is to say a crystallizable sugary juice, whilst M. Plagne, by crystallizing the juice four and five times, obtained an almost complete crystallization, a circumstance which is equally inherent to the mode of manipulation in the colonies.

A practical fact now comes to the support of what we have advanced: they then employ in the preparation of double-refined sugar the very finest sugar land; the syrup which is taken to be baked in vacuo is perfectly colourless and may be considered as a solution of sugar almost pure, During the first crystallization there is not more than 50 per cent. of crystallizable sugar, and it cannot be withdrawn farther without candying (carameliser) a portion of sugar; this depends, according to the observation of M. Dubrunfaut, on the fact that a part of the water on boiling can not dissolve more than five parts of sugar, that

In the same manner as the sugar cane-The sugar beet grown in lands over manured, and rich in deliqeuiescent salts, furnish syrups which crys tallize with much greater difficulty, and furnish more molasses,

it abandons three only by cooling, whilst one part of cold water dissolves two of sugar, it is this dissolution which constitutes the parent syrup.

The cooling of a saturated solution of sugar from heat leaves then a parent syrup (can-mere) which is sometimes designated by the name of molasses, and which is found to be formed in reality of two parts of sugar and one of water, but still we are not ignorant that these molasses are far from being liquid or uncrystallizable sugar; we have even signalized this fact in order to explain why the Creoles who do not repeat the boiling, at least very rarely, of their running syrups, carry so high the figure of their molasses. It is true that those amongst them who do reboil them, remove from them in general the bad products only. The inferiority of these sugars of syrups holds so universally to this that in place of reboiling them each day, as in the sugar bakehouses, or refining houses of sugar in France, the planters wait so long before reboiling them, that by this means the crystallizable sugar, which these syrups contain in such great abundance, are found partially altered by a slow fermentation, and by the reaction of saline matters. A better understood treatment of this product, so rich in crystallizable sugar, would give, without contradiction, great benefits to the Creoles. In fact, on the place of manufacture, the rough sugar is worth from 50 to 60 centimes the kilogramme, whilst the molasses, whatever be their richness in crystallizable sugar, are never sold for more than 10 centimes the litre (7 or 8 centimes the kilogramme). On a great number of plantations, the molasses are almost entirely for the nourishment of the flocks; on others they are employed in the quil diveries in the extraction of rum; in France likewise the molasses are utilized for the nourishment of animals, and for the extraction of alcohol, but these are the molasses marked from 44 to 50° of the areometer of Baumé, whilst the molasses of the colonies are ordinarily marked from 37 to 38°. This difference in the density of syrups may vary from 6 to 50 per cent. the quantity of uncrystallizable matter in a running syrup. The planters then are able to obtain from their molasses 35 or 40 per cent. of sugar.

Let us prove that the perfected equipages for the process of baking produce the finest sugars, from syrups the richest in crystallizable sugar; but they will not augment the quantity of baked sugar obtained from the