cants.

(5.) The SUGAR CANE, or SACCHARUM OF FICINARUM of botaniits, is a jointed reed, commonly meafuring (the flag part not included) from 34 to 7 feet in height, but fometimes rifing to 12 feet. When ripe it is of a fine ftraw colour inclining to yellow, producing leaves or blades, the edges of which are fine y and sharply ferrated, and terminating in an arrow decorated with a panicle. The joints in one ftalk are from 40 to 60 in number, and the stalks rifing from one root are fometimes very numerous. The young shoot af cends from the earth like the point of an arrow; the shaft of which foon breaks, and the two first leaves, which had been inclofed within a quadru ple fheath of feminal leaves, rife to a confiderable height. See Plate CCCXXIV: Mis the arrow and N the lower part with the root. "A field of canes, when standing, in November, when it is in arrow or full blofiem (fays Mr Beckford in his account of Jamaica), is one of the most beautiful productions that the pen or pencil can poffibly defcribe. It in common rifes from 3 to 8 feet or more in height; a difference of growth that very ftrongly marks the difference of foil or the varieties of culture. It is when ripe of a bright and goiden yellow; and where obvious to the fun, is in many parts very beautifully ftreaked with red: the top is of a darkish green; but the more dry it becomes, from either an excefs of riveness or a continuance of drought, of a ruffet yellow, with long and narrow leaves depending; from the centre of which fhoots up an arrow like a filver wand from two to fix feet in height; and from the fummits of which grows out a piume of white feathers, which are delicately fringed with a lilac dye; and indeed is, in its appearance, not much unlike the tuft that adorns this particular and elegant tree."

(6.) SUGAR-CANE, HISTORY OF THE. That the sugar-cane is an indigenous plant of the Eaft Indies, we have the ftrongest reafon to believe; for Thunberg found it in Japan, and has mentioned it as a native of that country in his Flora Japonica, published in 1784. Ofbeck alfo found it in China in 1751. Marco Paolo, a noble Venetian, who travelled into the Eaft about 1250, found fugar in abundance in Bengal. Vafco de Gama, who doubled the Cape of Good Hope in 1497, relates, that a confiderable trade in fugar was then carried on in the kingdom of Calicut. Diofcorides and Pliny, fay, that it is a native of Arabia; but Niebuhr in his Travels, has omitted it when enumerating the most valuable plants of that country. Mr Bruce found it in Upper Egypt. John Lioni fays, that a confiderable trade was carried on in fugar in Nubia, in 1500: it abounded alfo at Thebes, on the Nile, and in the northern parts of Africa, about the fame period. There is reafon to believe that the fugar-cane was introduced into Europe during the crufades. Peter Martyr, in the 3d book of his first decade, compofed during Columbus's 2d voyage, between 1493 and 1495, fays, that the fugar-cane was then known in Hifpaniola. There are authors who maintain, that it is a native both of the illa.ds and of the continent of America; and that

As

(7.) SUGAR-CANES, CULTIVATION OF. the cane is a rank fucculent plant, it requires a strong deep foil to bring it to perfection. The foil mo favourable to the cultivation of it is the dark grey loam of St Chriftopher's, which is fo light and porous as to be penetrable by the flighteft application of the hoe. The under ftratum is gravel from 8 to 12 inches deep. Canes planted in particular spots in this ifland have yielded 8000 lb. of Muscovado fugar from a fingle acre. The average produce of the island for a series of years has been 16,oco hogleads of 16 cwt. which is one half of the whole cane-land, or 8500 acres. When annually cut, it gives nearly two hogfheads of 16 cwt. per acre for the whole of the land in ripe canes. Next to the afhy loam of St Chriftopher's is the foil which in Jamaica is called brickmold; not as resembling a brick in colour, but as containing fuch a due mixture of clay and fand as is fuppofed to render it well adapted for the ute of the kiln. It is a deep, warm, and mellow, hazel earth, eafily worked; and though its furface foon grows dry after rain, the under ftratum retains a confiderable degree of moisture in the drieft weather; with this advantage too, that even in the wetteft seafon it seldom requires trenching. Plant-canes, or canes of the firft growth, have in very fine seasons yielded 24 tons of fugar per acre. After this may be reckoned the black mould of feveral varietics. The best is the deep black earth of Barbadoes, Antigua, and fome other of the windward islands; but there is a fpecies of this mold in Jamaica that is but little, if any thing inferior to it, which abounds with limeftone and fint on a fubftratum of foapy marle. Black mold on clay is more common; but as the mold is generally fhallow, and the clay stiff and retentive of water, this iaft fort of land requires great labour, both in ploughing and trenching, to render it profitable. When manured and properly pulverized, it becomes very productive. There is a peculiar fort of land on the N. fide of Jamaica, chiefly in the parish of Trelawney, remarkable not only on account of its fcarcity but its value; few foils producing finer fugars, or fuch as answer so well in the pan; an expreffion fignifying a greater return of refined fugar than common. This land is of a red colour; the fhades however, vary confiderably from a deep chocolate to a rich fearlet; in fome places it approaches to a bright yellow, but it is everywhere remarkable for a piofly furface, and if wetted stains the fingers like paint. It is of great importance that the plants for feed be put into the ground at the commencement of this feafon. As the cane requires a great deal of moisture to bring it to maturity, the propereft seafon for planting it is in Sept. and Oct. when the autumnal rains commence, that it may be fufficiently luxuriant to fhade the ground before the dry weather fets in. Thus the root is kept moilt, and the crop is ripe for the mill in the beginning of the next year. Canes planted in November, or later, lofe" the advantage of the autumnal alus; and dry wea

fary. A careful manager will remove all the la teral fhoots or fuckers that fpring up after the canes begin to joint, as they feidom come to ma turity, and draw nourishment from the original plants. In the cultivation of other lands, in Ja maica efpecially (tays Mr Edwards, the elegant hiftorian of the West Indies,) the plough has been introduced of late years, and in fome few cafes to great advantage: but it is hot every foil or fitua tion that will admit the ufe of the plough; some lands being much too ftony, and others too steep. The only advantageous fyftem of ploughing in the Weft Indies is to confine it to the fimple operation of holing, which may be performed with much greater facility by the plough than by the hoe; and the relief which, in the cafe of stiff and dry foils, is thus given to the negroes, exceeds all estimation, in the mind of a humane owner, At a plantation of my own, the greatest part of the land which is annually planted is neatly and fufficiently laid into cane-holes, by the labour of one able man, 3 boys, and 8 oxen, with the com mon fingle-wheeled plough. The plough-share indeed is fomewhat wider than ufual; but this is the only difference, and the method of ploughing is the fimpleft poffible. By returning the plough back along the furrow, the turf is alternately thrown to the right and to the left, forming a trench 7 inches deep, about 24 feet wide at the top, and I foot wide at the bottom. A fpace of 18 or 20 inches is left between each trench, on which the mold being thrown by the fhare, the banks are properly formed, and the holing is complete. Thus the land is not exhaufled by being too much expofed to the fun; and a field of 25 acres is thus holed with one plough, and with great eafc, in 13 days. The plants are afterwards placed in the trench as in the common method, where manual labour is alone employed. In moft parts of the West Indies it is ufual to hole and plant a certain proportion of the cane-land, commonly one 3d in annual rotation. The sprouts that spring from the roots of the cares that have been previously cut for fugar are called ratcons; the firft yearly returns from their roots are caled firßt ratoons; the second year's growth second rations. Mr Edwards informs us, that the manure generally ufed is a compoft, formed, rft, Of the vege. table alhes, drawn from the fires of the boiling and ftill houfes. adiy, Feculencies difcharged from the ftil-houfe, mixed up with rubbish of buildings, white lime, &e. 3dly, Reinse, or fieldtrafh, i. e. the decayed leaves and flems of the canes; fo called in contradiftinétion to cane-trath, referved for fuel. 4thly, Dung, obtained from the horfe and mule ftables, and from moveabl› pens, or fmall inclofures made by posts and rans, uccafionally fifted upon the lands intended to be planted, and into which the cattle are turned at night. 5thly, Good mold, collected from gullies and other waste places, and thrown into the cattle-pens.

ther in the bginning of the year retards their vegetation until the May rains fet in, when they prout both at the roots and the joints; fo that by the time they are cut the field is loaded with unripe fuckers instead of fugar-canes. A January plant, however, commonly turns out well; but canes planted very late in the spring, though they have the benefit of the May rains, feldom anfwer expectation; for they generaily come in unfeafonably, and throw the fucceeding crops out of regular rotation. They are therefore often cut before they are ripe; or if the autumnal feafons fet in early, are cut in wet weather, which has probably occafioned them to spring afrefh: in either cafe the effect is the fame: The juice is unconcocted, and all the fap being in motion, the root is deprived of its natural nourishment, to the great injury of the ratoon. The chief objection to a fall plant is this, that the canes become rank and top heavy, at a period when violent rains and high winds are expected, and are therefore frequently lodged before they are fit to be cut. The fugar-cane is propagated by the top-fhoots, which are cut from the tops of the old canes. The ufual method of planting in the Weft Indies is this: The quantity of land intended to be plant ed, being cleared of weeds and other incumbrances, is first divided into several plats of certain dimenfions, commonly from 15 to 20 acres each; the spaces between each plat or divifion are left wide enough for roads, for the conveniency of carting, and are called intervals. Each plat is then fubdivided, by a line and wooden pegs, into fmail fquares of about 34 or 4 feet. The negroes are then placed in a row in the first line, one to a fquare, and directed to dig out with their hoes the feveral fquares, to the depth of 5 or 6 inches. The mold which is dug up being formed into a bank at the lower fide, the excavation or cane. hole seldom exceeds 15 inches in width at the bot tom, and 24 feet at the top. The negroes then fali back to the next line, and proceed as before. Thus the feveral fquares between each line are formed into a trench of much the fame dimenfions with that which is made by the plough. An able negro will dig from 100 to 120 of thefe holes for his day's work of ten hours; but if the land has been previoufly ploughed and lain fallow, the fame negro will nearly double the number in the fame time. The cane-holes or trench being now completed, whether by the plough or by the hoe, and the cuttings felected for planting, which are commonly the tops of the canes that have been ground for fugar (each cutting containing 5 or 6 gems,) two of them are fufficient for a case hole of the dimenfions defcribed. Thefe being placed longitudinally in the bottom of the hole, are covered with mold about two inches deep; the reft of the bank being intended for future ufe. In 12 or 14 days the young fprouts begin to appear; and as foon as they rife a few inches above the ground, they are carefully cleared of weeds, and furnished with an addition of mold from the banks. This is ufually performed by the hand. At the end of 4 or 5 months the banks are wholby levelled, and the fpaces between the rows carefully hoc-ploughed. Frequent cleanings, while the canes are young, are indeed eflentially necel

"cember. It muft neceffarily follow, from the ctifa tom thefe nations have adopted of continuing to gather their crops for to months without intermillion, that they cut fome canes which are not ripe enough, and others that are too ripe, and then the fruit hath not the requifite qualities. The time of gathering them fhould be at a fixed feafun, and probably the months of March and April are the fitteft for it; becaufe all the fweet fruits are ripe at that time, while the four ones do not arrive to a state of maturity till the months of July and Auguft. The English cut their canes in March and April; but they are not induced to do this on account of their ripeness. The drought that prevails in their islands renders the rains which fall in September neceifary to their planting; and as the canes are 18 months in growing, this period always brings them to the precife point of maturity. "The time of crop in the fugar iflands (fays Mr Edwards) is the feafon of gladnefs and feftivity to man and beast. So palatable, falutary, and nourishing, is the juice of the cane, that every individual of the animal creation, drinking freely of it, derives health and vi gour from its ufe. The meagre and fickly among the negroes exhibit a surprising alteration in a few weeks after the mill is fet in action. The labouring horfes, oxen, and mules, though almost conftantly at work during this season, yet, being indulged with plenty of the green tops of this noble plant, and fome of the fcummings from the boiling-house, improve more than at any other period of the year. Even the pigs and poultry fatten on the refufe. In short, on a well-regulated plantation, under a humane and benevolent director, there is fuch an appearance during croptime of plenty and busy cheerfulness, as to foften, in a great meafure, the hardships of flavery."

brought thither by the French, when they poffelfed balf that ifland; they come down from the rocks in fent parties by night, and having pofted centine's to give the alarm if any thing approaches, they deftroy incredible quantities of the cane, by their gambols as well as their greediness. It is in vain to fet traps for these creatures, however baited; and the only way to protect the plantation, and deftroy them, is to fet a numerous watch, well armed with fowling-pieces, and furnished with dogs. The negroes will perform this fervice cheerfully, for they are very fond of monkeys as food. Labat fays, they are very delicious, but the white inhabitants of St Kitt's never eat them. The low-land plantations fuffer as much by rats as thofe on the mountains do from mon. keys; they alfo came with the fhipping from Europe, and breed in the ground under loofe rocks and bushes: the field negroes eat them greedily, and they are faid to be publicly foid in the markets at Jamaica. To free the plantations from thefe vermin, the breed of wild cats fhould be encouraged, and fnakes fuffered to multiply unmolefted; they may alfo be poisoned with arfenic, and the rafped root of the caffava made into pellets, and plentifully fcattered over the grounds. This practice, however, is dangerous; for as the rats when thus poifoned become exceeding thirty, they run in droves to the neighbouring streams, which they poifon as they drink, and the cattle grazing on the banks of these polluted waters have frequently perished by drinking after them: It is fafer therefore to make the pellets of flour, knead ed with the juice of the night-fhade, the feent of which will drive them away though they will not eat it. There is an Eaft Indian animal called mungoes, which bears a natural antipathy to rats; if this animal were introduced into our fugar iflands, it would probably extirpate the whole race of thefe noxious vermin. The formica omnivora of Linnæus, the carnivorous ant, which is called in Jamaica the raffle's ant, would foon ciear the fugar plantation of rats. The fugar-cane is alfo fubject to a difeafe which no forefight can obviate, and for which human wifdom has in vain attempted to find a remedy. This difeafe is called the blaft, and is occafioned by the aphis of Linnæus. When this happens, the fine, broad, green blades become fickly, dry, and withered; foon after they appear ftained in foots; and if thefe fpots are carefully examined, they will be found to contain in numerable eggs of an infect like a bug, which are foon quickened, and cover the plants with the vera min: the juice of the cines thus affected becomes four, and no future fhoot iffues from the joints. Ants alfo concur with the bugs to fpoil the plantation, and against these evits it is hard to find a remedy.

(9.) SUGAR CANES, HARVEST OF. The crops of fugar-canes do not ripen precifely at the fame period in all the colonics. In the Danish, Spanish, and Dutch fettlements, they begin in January, and continue till October. This method doth not imply any fixed feafon for the maturity of the fugarcane. The plant, however, like others, must have its progrefs; and it hath been justly obferved to be in flower in the months of November and DeVOL. XXI. PART II.

(10.) SUGAR, METHOD OF MAKING. The plants being cut, the branches at the top are given to the cattle for food; the top-fhoot, which is full of eyes, is preferved for planting. The canes are cut into pieces about a yard long, tied up in bundles, and carried in carts to the mill, where they are bruifed, and the juice is extracted from them. The mill confifts principally of three upright iron-plated roilers or cylinders, from 30 to 40 inches in length, and from 20 to 25 inches in diameter; and the middle one, to which the moving power is applied, turns the other two by means of cogs. Between thefe rollet 3, the canes (being previously cut fhort, and tied into bundies) are twice compreffed; for having paffed through the first and fecond rollers, they are turned round the middle one by a circular piece of frame-work or fcreen, called in Jamaica the Dumb returner, and forced back through the fecond and third; an operation which fqueezes them completely dry, and fometimes even reduces them to powder. The cane juice is received in a leaden bed, and thence conveyed into a veffel called the receiver. The refufe, or macerated rind of the cane, (which is called cane-trafb, in contradiftinction to fold-trash,) ferves for fuel to boil the liquor. The juice as it flows from the mill, taken at a me ifum, contains 8 parts of pure water, one part of fugar, and one part confifting Zzz

of

of coarfe oil and mucilaginous gum, with a portion of essential oil. As this juice has a strong difpofition to fermentation, it must be boiled as foon as poffible. There are fome water-miils that will grind with great eafe canes fufficient for 30 hogtheads of fugar in a week. It is neceffary to have boiling vessels, or clarifiers, that will correfpond in dimensions to the quantity of juice flowing from the receiver. These clarifiers are commonly three in number, and are sometimes capable of containing rooo gallons each; but it is more ufual to fee them of 300 or 400 gallons each. Be fides the clarifiers which are used for the first boiling, there are generally 4 coppers or boilers. The clarifiers are placed in the middle or at one end of the boiling-house. If at one end, the boiler called the teache is placed at the other, and several boilers (generally three) are ranged between them. The teache is ordinarily from 70 to 100 gallons, and the boilers between the clarifiers and teache diminish in fize from the firft to the laft. Where the clarifiers are in the middle, there is ufually a fet of three boilers on each fide, which conftitute in effect a double boiling-house. On very large eftates this arrangement is found ufefui and neceffary. The objection to fo great a number is the expence of fuel; to obviate which, in fome degree, the three boilers on each fide of the clarifiers are commonly hung to one fire. The juice runs from the receiver along a wooden gutter lined with lead into the boiling-house, where it is received into one of the clarifiers. When the clarifier is filled, a fire is lighted, and a quantity of Briftol quicklime in powder, which is called temper, is poured into the veffel. The ufe of the lime is to unite with the fuperabundant acid, which, for the fuccefs of the process, it is neceffary to get rid of. The quanity fufficient to feparate the acid muft vary according to the strength of the quicklime and the quality of the liquor. Some planters allow a pint of lime to every 100 gallons of liquor: but Mr Edwards thinks that little more than half the quantity is a better medium proportion, and even then, that it ought to be diffolved in boiling water, that as little of it as poffible may be precipitated. The heat is fuffered gradually to increate till it approaches within a few degrees of the heat of boiling water, that the impurities may be thoroughly feparated. But if the liquor were fuffered to boil with violence, the impurities would again incorporate with it. It is known to be fufficiently heated when the fcum begins to rife in blifters, which break into white froth, and appear generally in about 40 minutes. The tire is then fuddenly extinguished by means of a damper, which excludes the external air, and the liquor is allowed to remain about an hour undisturbed, during which period the impurities are collected in feum on the furface. The juice is then drained off either by a syphon or a cock; the fcum being of a tenacious gummy nature, does not flow out with the liquor, but remains behind in the clarifer. The liquid juice is conveyed from the ciarifier by a gutter into the evaporating boiler, commoniy termed the grand copper; and if it has been obtained from good canes it generally appears transparent. In the evaporating boiler, which thould be large enough to receive the contents of

the clarifier, the liquor is allowed to boil; and as the fcum arifes it is taken off. The fcumming and evaporation are continued till the liquor becomes finer and thicker, and fo far diminished in bulk that it may be easily contained in the 24 copper When put into the ad copper, it is near. ly of the colour of Madeira wine; the boiling and fcumming are continued, and if the impurities be confiderable, a quantity of lime-water is added. This process is carried on till the liquor be fuffi ciently diminished in quantity to be contained in the third copper. After being purified a third time, it is put into the fourth copper, which is called the teache, where it is boiled and evaporated till it is judged fufficiently pure to be removed from the fire. In judging of the purity of the ii. quor, many of the negroes (fays Mr Edwards) guefs folely by the eye, (which by long habit they do with great accuracy,) judging by the appear ance of the grain on the back of the ladle: but the practice moft in ufe is to judge by what is cal led the touch; i. e. taking up with the thumb a fmall portion of the hot liquor from the ladle; and, as the heat diminishes, drawing with the fore finger the liquid into a thread. This thread will fuddenly break, and fhrink from the thumb to the fufpended finger, in different lengths, according as the liquor is more or lefs boiled. The proper boiling height for ftrong muscovado fugar is generally determined by a thread of a quarter of an inch long. It is evident, that certainty in this experiment can be attained only by long habit, and that no verbal precepts wid furnish any degree of skill in a matter depending wholly on conftant practice. The juice being thus purified by paffing through the clarifier and four coppers, it is poured into coolers, which are ufually fix in number. The removal from the teache to the cooler is called friking. The cooler is a fhaliow wooden veffel 7 feet long, from 5 to 6 wide, about 11 inches deep, and capable of containing a hogi head of fugar. As the liquor cools, the fugar grains, that is, collects into an irregular mass of imperfect crystals, feparating itself from the melaffes. It is then removed from the cooler, and conveyed to the curing-house, where the melaffes drain from it. For receiving them there is a large ciftern, the floping fides of which are lined with boards. Directly above the ciftern a frame of joistwork without boarding is placed, on which empty hogfheads without heads are ranged. The bottoms of thefe hogfheads are pierced with 8 or 10 hoies, in each of which the stalk of a plantain leaf is fixed fo as to project 6 or 8 inches below the joifts, and rife a little above the top of the hogfhead. The hogtheads being filled with the contents of the cooler, confifting of fugar and melaffes, the melaffes being liquid, drain through the fpungy stalk, and drop into the ciftern. After the melasses are drained off, the sugar becomes pretty dry and fair, and is then called mufcovado or raw fugar. Such is the procefs for extracting fugar, which is generally adopted in the British Weft India iflands, according to the latest improvements.

(11.) SUGAR, METHOD OF MAKING, IN THE E. INDIES. The above is the method of cultivating and manufacturing fugar in the West Indies, where flaves alone are employed: but we feel a peculiar