"One of the greatest dangers to successful sugar making is
fermentation," observed Mr. Hennessey. "Sugar must continually be
stirred by revolving paddles to keep it from fermenting; we also are
obliged to take the greatest care that our vats and all other
receptacles are clean, and that the plant is immaculate. Frequently
we wash down all the walls with a solution of lime in order that the
entire interior of the refinery may be quite fresh."
"I didn't dream it was so much work to make white sugar," ventured
Bob, a little awed. "Our maple-sugar making was much simpler."
"I'll venture to say it was," agreed Mr. Hennessey. "In the first
place, you did not make such a quantity of it; then you did not try
to get it white. Furthermore, you were content to take it in cakes.
Making cane-sugar is, however, easy enough if one is careful and
knows the exact way to do it. There is plenty of opportunity to
spoil it--I'll admit that; but it is seldom that a batch of our
sugar goes back on us. We have fine chemists who watch every step of
the process and who constantly test samples of the liquid at every
stage into which it passes until it comes out water-white."
"And then?"
"Then follows crystallization, and this too requires skilled workmen
and extreme care. The water is evaporated and the sugar crystallized
in the vacuum pans, the size crystal depending upon the temperature
at which the liquid is boiled. It takes a lower temperature to form
a small crystal and a higher one to form a large crystal.
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