THE FIRST CHANCE TO PAUSE.
At this point the juice has just reached a condition in which it will keep. From the moment the cane is cut in the fields until now, every delay is liable to entail loss of sugar by inversion. After the water is put into the cells of the battery with the chips, the temperature is carefully kept above that at which fermentation takes place most readily, and the danger of inversion is thereby reduced. But with all the precautions known to science up to this point the utmost celerity is necessary to secure the best results. There is here, however, a natural division in the process of sugar making, which will be further considered under the heading of "Auxiliary Factories." Any part of the process heretofore described may be learned in a few days by workmen of intelligence and observation who will give careful attention to their respective duties.