in so far as I know, the vacuum process is not employed. In fact, except for economy of fuel, the vacuum process would be objectionable, since by boiling in an ordinary open kettle a larger quantity of sugar is inverted and thus the tendency to crystallization is diminished. It is a common but reprehensible practice in making sugar cane sirup to subject the freshly expressed juice to the fumes of burning sulfur. This makes a light-colored sirup but introduces a substance highly objectionable and one which destroys to a certain degree the flavor of the product. Experiments made by the Department of Agriculture show that delicious, wholesome, and palatable sugar cane sirup is best made by clarifying the expressed juice solely by means of heat and mechanical separation of the coagulum. The addition of lime or any other clarifying reagent is unnecessary and only makes a sirup of less desirable and less palatable quality. Since cane sirup is made uniformly in open kettles or pans there is a slight caramellization of the sirup during evaporation which gives a reddish tint to the product, which should be a mark of superiority instead of being so often regarded as a mark of inferiority. The consumer should always be suspicious of a sugar cane sirup which is light in color. It is probably a case of "Greeks bearing gifts" in the form of sulfurous acid or other injurious bleaching materials. Sugar cane sirup is not appreciated by the people of the North. In fact it is rarely seen or consumed by them. In its own country, however, it is a staple article of diet, highly esteemed, wholesome, palatable, and nutritious.
Analysis of Sugar Cane Sirup.—The average composition of thirteen samples of cane sirup of known purity is as follows:
Total solids, 75.0 percent
Water, 25.8 "
Ash, 1.2 "
Sucrose, 52.0 "
Reducing sugar, 17.6 "
Sorghum Sirup.—The sorghum plant (Sorghum saccharatum) is grown practically in every state in the Union, but principally in Kansas. Some of the very best sorghum sirup made in the United States, however, is made in Minnesota, and this plant can be used for sirup making purposes over the whole area of the United States.
The method of manufacture is exactly that of sugar cane sirup. It is made in small mills mostly driven by horse power, though some large factories have steam apparatus for its manufacture. It should also be made without the use of any other clarifying reagent than heat. Sorghum sirup has a peculiar flavor which is not disagreeable to those accustomed to its use. It is extremely wholesome, highly nutritious, and palatable. It is a staple article of diet with thousands of families in the United States, principally in the northern and central portion. It rarely is made in the New England states and not very often in those southern states where sugar cane can be
