ntain but a small proportion of these foreign
matters if it could be expressed without being accompanied by the sap,
they being the natural constituents of the last-named fluid. A patent
has, I believe, been lately taken out for separating the cane juice
without the sap. However, in the absence of such an improvement, much
may be done by care and attention at the mill; the green bands and
trash which usually accompany the canes from the field, should,
therefore, be carefully removed before they are passed through, as
they contain no saccharine matter, abound in the deleterious
substances already mentioned, and communicate a bad color to the
juice; therefore, _the ripe cane only should pass through the mill_.
There are but few planters who have not had to contend with sour
juice, and they attribute the difficulty they experience in making
sugar therefrom, to the presence of acetic acid, or vinegar; but this
is quite an erroneous idea, as the acetic acid is very volatile, and
evaporates quickly on the application of heat, which may be proved by
throwing a gallon of strong vinegar into a pan of liquor; it will do
no harm, provided it be boiled before tempering; on the contrary, the
effect, if it be properly done, will be beneficial, as it will promote
the coagulation of the albumen; it is the gum which is always formed
during the acetous fermentation of sugar that prevents granulation;
hence, then, acidity is strictly to be guarded against, as
fermentation once commenced, it will be impossible to make good sugar,
it will continue throughout the process, and even in the hogshead; so
that canes should be ground as soon as possible after they are cut,
and all rat-eaten and broken ones carefully excluded. Canes may,
however, be kept some days without fermenting, provided they be not
broken or damaged, it being, as we said before, the mixture of the sap
and the cane juice that makes the liquid so prone to fermentation; and
the mill, gutters, and everything with which the juice is likely to
come in contact, should be kept carefully clean, and whitewashed
immediately after, and the whitewash removed before use, as acetate of
lime being an exceedingly soluble and deliquescent salt, will not
improve the quality of the sugar; whilst the gutter should be short,
and sheltered from the sun's rays, they having the effect of greatly
expediting chemical action.

I shall say no more on this subject, but will proceed to consider the
mode o