three gallons beat up an egg with some of the liquor; put altogether
into a boiler, and boil gently till the syrup acquires the consistence
of treacle. Whilst this is going on, the liquor should every now and
then be well stirred, and the scum which rises to the surface taken
off. This syrup, which will be found a better substitute for sugar
than treacle, and more wholesome, should be kept in lightly-covered
vessels, in a dry place.

My own observations, twelve years ago, acquainted me with the fact,
that when the grain in the ear has acquired one half of the full size,
the quantity of sugar in the sap has passed its maximum, or begun to
decrease, and continues to do so until it disappears entirely. Lopping
off the young ears makes shorter work of it. It is like taking the
young from an animal giving suck, in which case the milk soon ceases
to flow into the breast, and that which produced it is elaborated into
other fluids necessary to the nourishment of the different parts of
the body of the parent. In the corn-stalk, when deprived of its ears,
the elements of sugar are dissipated by increasing the size of the
plant.

Sugar may also be obtained from the carrot and the parsnip, as well as
from all sweet fruits. It is abundant throughout the vegetable
kingdom; it forms the first food of plants when they germinate in the
seed; when the first little sprout is projected from a grain of corn,
a portion of the farina, or starch, is changed into sugar, which may
be called the blood of the plant, and from it is drawn the nourishment
necessary to its expansion and appearance above the surface of the
earth. In the latter growth of many plants an inverse process is
carried on, as in the Indian corn, which I have just spoken of. In
this instance, as also numberless others, sugar is formed in large
quantities in the body of the plant, and elaborated into farina, or
starch, in the ear. The elements of which sugar and starch are
composed are the same; the only difference is in their proportions.
Chemists, being aware of this, have converted starch into sugar; and
could do it with certainty to any extent, were any advantage to be
gained by it; but hitherto starch has been higher in price than sugar.

SECTION II.

THE GRAIN CROPS, EDIBLE ROOTS, AND FARINACEOUS PLANTS FORMING THE
BREAD STUFFS OF COMMERCE.

The vegetable substances, from which man derives his principal
sustenance, such as the nutritious cereal grains, the